


With Friends Like These

by fuelthefire



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Slow Burn, cw: canon-typical violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2020-09-30 09:46:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 48
Words: 63,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20445113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuelthefire/pseuds/fuelthefire
Summary: Formerly Untitled.A series of vignettes focusing on the friendship between Krieg and Maya, and their relationships with the other Vault Hunters.





	1. 1. My First Gun

Maya has no clue what she's doing. Was she acting on a gut feeling, or on an impulse? Were those two things even any different? She's barely been on Pandora for two weeks, and she's basically just adopted a giant psycho. She still can't quite put her finger on _why._ Obviously, he had saved her life on the train platform, and that's definitely good for _something._ Maybe it was the look he'd given her after all the rats were dead. It had been a look like how she imagines a drowning man might regard a life preserver thrown at the last minute, and that feels _stupid._ She's not anybody's savior, and she's definitely no goddess - she never was, and she refuses to playact at being one. She hates the charade that was her life until now - the grooming, the lies, the exploitation, and the freaking _cage_. It's all a bunch of shit she's determined to unteach herself. She'll start with figuring out a logical explanation for the man's look, rather than imagining there was more to a glance than was actually there.

Anyway, she's pretty sure he needs _some_ kind of help. Whether or not she can give it to him is another question entirely, but she feels like she owes it to him to at least try. He had seemed happy to join her on the train, though he had just as quickly disappeared out the back once aboard. 

Not that she could blame him. Built like a brick shithouse and well over six feet tall, no doubt the interior of the narrow train car was too cramped for his liking. It's probably a relief when the whole train crashes and burns and they're left out in the open under the wide Pandoran sky.

The huge man is surprisingly quiet when there's no active fighting happening, and he also doesn't offer to shank any of the others, not even a little bit. Everything he's done (or hasn't done) up until now has basically been exactly the opposite behavior she had been prepared to expect from one of Pandora's violent denizens, and she's really not sure what to think about that.

She keeps an eye on him while they all follow Claptrap. He seems content to hang back and give the others space, bringing up the rear. They all look pretty rough - she's sure she's no exception - but the big guy is handling it like a champ. Even so, she slows and waits for him to catch up with her.

Maya can practically feel his gaze when she does this. It would definitely be a little unnerving in most situations, and it probably should be in this one. But it's not, for a lot of reasons, not least of which is that she's a Siren. _She_ doesn't get unnerved. People are unnerved by _her._

Although honestly, the fact that the psycho (not to mention the rest of their ragtag bunch) doesn't appear to be the least bit intimidated by her is supremely refreshing.

"How're you holding up, big guy?" She's already checked in with everyone else. No one's feeling great, but also (and more importantly), no one's going to die. At least not from these particular injuries. Freezing to death is still a possibility. It's frigid out, and with dark fast approaching it's only getting colder. It's not ideal for any of them, but definitely worse for the man with no shirt.

"Mnnnghh...I want a refund and a sledgehammer!" his voice is a low growl rather than a shout. Maya blinks. She has no idea what he's talking about.

"Uh...so...no life-threatening injuries to report?"

"There's no beautiful agony for the meat man today!" The volume of the growl increases and modulates into a more or less "normal" speaking volume. He's emphatic rather than enthusiastic, and the tone in his voice is overall…_disappointed?_

"Okay. Well...I'm sorry you're disappointed, but I'm glad you're not hurt."

"Mnngh."

And she has no idea what to make of that, so she glances over to him. Of course, looking at him solves exactly zero mysteries, since whatever clues she might glean from his expression are hidden under his mask. She's also managed to position herself on his blind side, which not only means that she can't see his one exposed eye, but that he can't see that she's looking at him.

"Hey. Um. Let me know if it gets too cold for you, okay? I don't really know what we can do long term, but we can at least get a fire going, or something…"

He whips his head around to look at her halfway through her offer, and the intensity of his stare is a little uncomfortable. When she trails off, he returns his gaze to the direction they're walking, and she does the same. There's a big, snow-covered mound of what looks like junk in the distance, and someone - apparently Claptrap - has decorated it with a string of festive, colorful lights. The crunch of the snow and ice beneath their feet is almost loud enough to drown out the small robot leading the way.

"I'll only freeze to death after I'm dead."

He'd been quiet for so long Maya had assumed he wasn't going to answer her at all. His delayed reply makes little sense to her, but that's basically in keeping with everything else he's said so far. She looks back over at him to discover he's looking at her. She honestly has no idea what to say in response, but it feels like she should say _something_.

"Uh. Well, okay then. Good to know?"

And he laughs, a deep, rumbling chuckle from his gut that puzzles her even as it - weirdly - makes her feel a little better.


	2. 2. Blindsided

"Hey, Big Guy. You got a name?" After not very long at all of the small robot's incessant chatter, the pretty soldier, apparently desperate for distraction, hangs back a bit to walk even with him and ask his question.

"Mnughuhuhuhu...Call me Ishamel. NO!" The ending exclamation is as abrupt as the laughter was unsettling. "Call me Krieeeeeeeeeeg." He drags out the single syllable, his voice a low, guttural growl, purring over the long vowel and stopping short at the ending consonant. He doesn't remember where the name came from. He's pretty sure it's not the one he's always had. It doesn't matter, though, because who he was before is gone, and violent rage is all that's left. The name feels good on his tongue.

"Krieg?" The soldier --

_Axton_

\--seems puzzled.

"The meaning is _war_." That's the skinny noodle ninja --

_Zer0_

\--Speaking up for the first time that he's heard.

"Oceans of bile, blood, and death / a suitable name."

"...Dude, was that a haiku?"

"Nice to meet'cha, Krieg!" That's the skinny redhead, who talks over the other two and directs a warm and open grin his way.

_She looks so young._

She can't be any more than eighteen or nineteen. Her smile is weirdly like a punch to the gut, but in a nice way. _This is _normal_. This is what normal people do._ It seems weird, and a little wrong, to have such an open and warm expression directed at him. It feels like he should turn it away, dismantle it, rip it from one end to the other and discourage her from ever doing it again. He doesn't _deserve_ normal. He fixes his uncovered eye on her face for far too long to be either polite or comfortable. Finally, his mouth says some words, and they're not actually as bad as some words he's said before.

"It's a good day to be the meat man!"

He's happy to meet her, too. She blinks at his response, and then her grin, which had faded a bit during the staring, widens once more. She winks and fingerguns at him, and his stomach does another weird little turn.

"We're gonna have a lot of good days!" she says. Maybe she's just being stubbornly optimistic in the face of their bleak situation, stranded in the freezing Windshear Waste, but even if she is? That's alright.


	3. 3. Cleaning Up the Berg

Maya notices almost immediately when they hit their first real firefight, within the walls of Liarsburg. The Psycho jumps right in to the thick of it with the exact overabundance of enthusiasm she would have guessed. But, for all he's going absolutely buckwild, he also seems to be deliberately positioning himself between Gaige and the worst of the gunfire. The skinny teen appears to be holding her own as the bandits go down one by one. There's a look of grim determination on her face. Maya has no idea if she noticed the big man's behavior too, or if she's just concentrating on not vomiting or dying. These are the first people they've shot at since the train wreck, and while Maya wouldn't call herself a hardened killer by any stretch, this also isn't her first rodeo. Not counting the Bullymongs up until now, it's definitely Gaige's.

Flynt's bandits are shouting a number of frankly uncomfortable things, and Krieg is shouting a lot of really strange things, and he, Axton, and Salvador all seem to be having the time of their lives. She's not sure where Zer0 disappeared off to, but she's sure they're nearby, sniping from some advantageous perch. Bandit heads don't explode on their own, after all. So they're probably also having the time of their life.

Once all the bandits and bullymongs are dead, Sir Hammerlock makes his appearance. Maya lets Gaige handle talking to him while she hangs back with Krieg. The big man doesn't seem particularly interested in the robot eye surgery, which...well, she can't really blame him. He also doesn't seem particularly interested in dismembering Sir Hammerlock, either, which had been her main concern. It looks as though she'd worried for nothing, however, which is a relief.

"I say, is that a Psycho? Strapping big brute, isn't he?" Evidently, though, Sir Hammerlock has some interest in Krieg. Which, given the circumstances, is more or less to be expected.

Maya takes a breath to reply, though she's not exactly sure what she's going to say, when Gaige beats her to it.

"His name is Krieg! He's a super badass!"

The teen has known Krieg for all of maybe twelve hours and she's already singing his praises. Maya can't decide if that's heartwarming or stupid.

"I see. He seems quite docile. How on earth did you manage that?"

"He's not docile, _or_ deaf." Krieg's voice is a low, dangerous rumble. He fixes his one visible eye on Sir Hammerlock, and proceeds to stare him down.

"It doesn't matter. He's part of the team." Maya steps forward, placing herself squarely between Krieg and Hammerlock...More for Hammerlock's sake, than anything else. Hammerlock's gaze moves from the psycho to the siren, and he looks very briefly nonplussed. But in the end, he shrugs.

"Apologies - I was merely curious. I meant no offense. Goodness knows there's more than enough of that to go around without me adding to it!"

Krieg stares at Hammerlock for an uncomfortably long moment, before finally shrugging too, and making a dismissive grunt.

"...Right, well, if you'll all follow me, I'll get the bounty board back up and running."

Hammerlock leads the others away into the center of town, while Maya stays where she is. When she turns back to look at Krieg, she sees he's no longer staring at Hammerlock, but at her. She can't see his expression, of course, and has a difficult time even seeing his eye, overshadowed as it is by the mask's eyehole. She can only guess at what might be going through his mind.

"Well. You _are._" She realizes she sounds a little defensive, and adds, "I mean. If you want to be."

"It's better than a birthday bullet!"

...Well...He _sounds_ happy...so she hazards a guess. "That's...a good thing, right?"

"Mnhuahahahahah! Yessssss!"

"Okay - awesome." It could just be the exhaustion and the cold finally getting to her, but the sound of his mad laughter makes her smile.


	4. 3a. This Town Ain't Big Enough

"Are you _sure_ you know what you're doing?"

"What?"

Axton had waited for a quiet moment to approach her. Which, if nothing else, lets her know that the man _does_ possess some modicum of tact, which is good information to have. She'd begun to fear that particular skill was in short supply within this group.

"With the Psycho. He's a part of the team, now?"

Maya takes a deep breath, and holds it briefly. She'd known this was coming. Or, at least, she'd guessed. It's not a surprise from Axton, at least. While she wouldn't exactly call the man level-headed, he definitely has a sense of caution that the others, so far, seem to completely lack.

"I don't see the harm. He hasn't tried to hurt any of us."

"Yeah, but how long do you think that's going to last?"

Maya frowns. "I have no idea. Why don't you ask him? I bet he could tell you better than I could." Her voice is more cold than she planned, and her frown only deepens when she realizes how defensive that perfectly reasonable question made her feel.

Axton sighs, scrubs a hand over his face, and looks away, down into the little ravine under Liarsburg where Krieg, Salvador, and Gaige are currently going ham on a colony of bullymongs. "Look, I'm not saying we...I dunno, kick him out, or mercy-kill him, or whatever, it's not like he's got anywhere to go on this frozen rock. And you're right, he hasn't tried to kill us - _yet_ -"

"There are five of us,"

Both Axton and Maya jump, startled by Zer0's sudden appearance. The assassin notices this, and flash a cheeky ":)" emote at the two of them before continuing. "And there's only one psycho. The odds favor us."

It feels worse than it should to hear Zer0 echo something she's already thought. However, she nods her head in agreement. "I mean. Yeah. Exactly. We can take him down. If we have to."

She _really_ hopes they don't have to.

"Mmn. Yeah, I guess that's a good point." Axton doesn't seem convinced.

"And hey, who knows, maybe once we get off the Shelf he'll lose interest and wander away. Pandora's a big place." She's mostly trying to reassure Axton, because honestly? She's kind of hoping Krieg will stick around.

"That would be stupid. We're the most interesting thing on Pandora." While neither is startled this time, both Maya and Axton turn to Zer0 and give the assassin a _look_. Axton's is pained, and Maya's is unimpressed. Zer0 responds by flashing another ":)" in front of their blank face plate.

Maya sighs, turning back to Axton. "Look. You said it yourself, he's not trying to kill us. Yet. We've already got a list of problems a mile long, so just. Put him as a footnote at the bottom, or something. We'll all keep an eye on him. As long as he's not murdering us, we can return the favor. Fair?"

She's pretty sure Axton isn't happy with it, but he also doesn't have a counter-argument. So he grunts wordlessly and shrugs. "Yeah, fair."


	5. 3b. Bad Hair Day

It's alarming the first time Krieg goes into a berserker rage. Maya thought his behavior when they'd first met had been nuts, but what she's seeing now makes what she saw then seem downright _calm_. From what she can see of the others - through the flying Bullymong limbs and bodies, both membered and dismembered - only Gaige seems shaken. The others all appear to take the screaming rage and fury in stride.

….Though to be fair it's not like Salvador is much better when _he_ goes off moments later, guns blazing. And then it's like a one-sided pissing contest, because she doesn't think Krieg is in any state to notice what the Gunzerker is doing.

So it surprises her when, seconds later again, Krieg pulls an abrupt behavioral 180 as Gaige is knocked down. Maya has been trying to stick close to the younger woman, but between the flying projectiles hurled by the bullymongs and the earth-shaking impact the larger ones make when they leap and slam into the ground, she's been knocked and - heh, _bullied_ \- a fair distance away. Krieg is closer, and he's at Gaige's side almost at once. Though he's still yelling nonsense at the top of his lungs, the content of the words change.

"You don't die today! You die _EVERY DAY!!_" 

She hears Gaige respond, but she's too far away and the general chaos of the fight is too loud for her to catch the words. The younger woman is on her feet again moments later, summoning her robot Deathtrap to play backup. Krieg's laughter when the robot digistructs into existence is equal parts delighted and deranged.

"Light 'em up, Geek Girl!"

"You got it, Meat Man!"

And Maya relaxes - fractionally. She had been worried how Krieg would react in exactly this situation, or if he'd even react at all. No doubt this is just the first of many similar events, and there's no telling how things will unfold down the road. But it seems that even in the midst of his bloodlust, Krieg is not only aware of his allies, but cognizant enough to offer aid to them when they need it.

And if that's not a point in his favor, she doesn't know what is.


	6. 3c. Symbiosis

"Hey, Amigo! You can come sit over here!"

He doesn't realize he's being talked to right away. The others have seemed to settle between calling him "Big Guy" and "Krieg" when they want his attention. He doesn't mind the nickname. It's definitely one of the nicer - maybe even the nicest - things he can remember being called. Although to be frank, it's not like he can remember a lot, so that's probably not saying much.

_Pretty sure he's talking to us, buddy._

He glances over at the short one --

_Salvador_

\--and blinks. Then it takes him a moment to remember what was said, grasping at the words and dragging them back through his mind until he can process the meaning, and the invitation clicks. The group has settled for the night, building a roaring campfire in a protected section of the Shelf, sheltered from the worst of the wind. While the others had gathered close to the blaze, he'd hung back, unsure still how far their hospitality extended when they weren't cooperating to mow down waves of bandits.

"Yeah!" The Geek Girl --

_Gaige_

\--pipes up. There's a space on the ground open between her and Maya, and she pats it invitingly with her robotic hand. "You can sit right here." He glances between Gaige and Maya, and when Maya smiles and nods, he makes up his mind, and joins the group.

He's quiet as they discuss plans for finding and killing the bullymong-riding midget as Professor Mustache --

_Sir Hammerlock_

\--has requested. He stares into the fire and lets the sound of their voices roll over him. He pays more attention to the cadence and rhythm of the speech than the content of the words. The voices of the people around him are louder than the voice in his head. He already likes them a _lot_ better, and he's grateful for how easily they drown the voice out.


	7. 4. Best Minion Ever

There's a lot to get used to on Pandora, not least of which is how exuberant her traveling companions are. Back at the monastery, restraint had been the order of the day for all things. Maya had lost track ages ago the number of times she'd been reprimanded for showing too much emotion - Any emotion. Joy, anger, sadness - all of it must be repressed, bottled up and choked down, private and shameful. The scolding had been a daily occurrence in her youth, and barely let up into her adult years.

The total lack of restraint the others display in this regard is as shocking as it is refreshing. Of them all, Axton is the most disciplined - to be expected from former military - but he emotes far more frequently and genuinely than Maya has ever experienced. After Axton is Zer0. Even as the most mysterious of the group, the assassin still has no problems communicating what they're feeling. When they choose to do so, anyway. Their face plate seems to have been built with that in mind, and the glowing red emojis they flash are surprisingly communicative in conjunction with situational context. A simple ":)" might be a genuine expression of happiness one time, and a sarcastic, passive-aggressive taunt later.

She has to stop herself sometimes from telling Gaige to calm down. The teenager feels everything so often, and so much, and was apparently never encouraged - or forced - to develop a filter. Maya had hated being told to rein it in more than almost anything else, when it was done to her. Like hell she's going to turn around and carry on with that bullshit. So whenever Gaige becomes amped up she feels the urge to quiet her, Maya instead thinks of the way Gaige's exuberance would irritate the monks, and the feeling of schadenfreude she gets from imagining their annoyance overpowers a fading desire to request restraint.

Salvador is a lot like Gaige in that respect. He has no discernible filter and is happy to share his feelings with anyone nearby. The two get along like a house on fire, especially in the midst of bandit camps - they egg each other on, and carry out surprisingly friendly competitions to see who can kill the most bandits. Between Sal's dual-wielding guns and Gaige's Deathtrap, it's a close competition every time.

And then there's Krieg. She spends at least as much time watching him as he does watching her. At first she felt it necessary to be on guard nonstop, because even though he hasn't shown any aggression towards her or the rest (or towards Claptrap or Hammerlock, come to that), she has no idea how long his patience or control will last. As the days pass, whatever is going on in his head is still an enigma, but it's become pretty obvious to her that although he enjoys violent dismemberment, he never instigates - he only reacts. Still, it's difficult to read his emotions - unlike with Zer0, he doesn't have a helpful holographic emoticon dictionary. He speaks sparingly when they're not in the midst of a firefight, and his tone is always the same, a low growl, colored strongly by vocal cords ragged from shouting. If he emotes on the rare occasions he does talk, the intonation might be getting lost in the growl.

In any case, the more time she spends with these five individuals, the more she likes each of them. Even after surviving an ever-growing number of fights together, when her powers are at their most effective and she's not shy about using them, they still treat her the same - a mixture of camaraderie, some friendly ribbing, and a generous amount of bullshit. She's never had friends before, and she's not sure what to make of it. But she does know that it feels _good_. She's pretty sure _this_ is how relationships between people are supposed to be. It's something she hadn't known she'd even wanted until she'd met them, and something she desperately wants to hang on to now that she has it. With these people, she's not a goddess, or anybody's savior. Maybe the group of people she's fallen in with aren't exactly the most _moral_, but they don't treat her like a siren. They treat her like a _person_, so she's willing to overlook a lot.


	8. 5. The Road to Sanctuary

The journey by ship from the Southern Shelf to Three Horns Divide is frustratingly dull. Everyone tries to sleep as much as possible, and some are more successful at it than others. Gaige and Salvador sleep like rocks. Axton and Maya both manage to at least doze successfully. No one's seen Zer0 since they set sail, but it's assumed that the assassin is still on board somewhere. Whether or not they're sleeping too, or even whether or not they even sleep, is anyone's guess.

Krieg can't sleep. Between the nightmares that wait for him just past the curtain of consciousness, and Claptrap's habit of talking loudly at _just exactly the wrong time_, it's impossible for him to doze.

So he spends the voyage pacing around the ship. He alternates between going below decks, climbing to the top of the cabin, and perching on the prow like a meaty, muscular figurehead. Sometimes he mutters to himself as he makes his rounds, and sometimes he's quiet. He misses the chatter of the others, misses the way their voices wash over him as they talk, and drown out the voice in his head. The pesky voice has been pretty quiet since the train crash, thankfully, but he knows it's still there. It's only a matter of time until it starts talking again, nagging, chiding, scolding, ruining his fun, threatening to end it all if he steps out of line. The new relationships he's building with these people make that threat all the worse. Now that the rage and despair that drove him to mindless slaughter have calmed, he thinks he might not actually want to end it all, after all. Maybe there's something more to live for beyond violence and bloodbaths. The way Gaige's face lights up when she grins, the way Salvador waggles his eyebrows as he makes a lewd joke, the way Zer0's faceplate flashes with a little red smiley...

...the way Maya snorts when she laughs...

"Oof...hey, big guy!" It's almost as if just thinking about her summoned her. Maya steps out on the deck, sees him perched on top of the cabin, and hauls herself up to join him. She seats herself on his left side and meets his eye with a little smile before turning to look out at the sea. "Did you manage to sleep at all?"

"Mngh." 

She turns back to look at him again, and meets his eye once more, this time with her eyebrows raised. "That sounds like a no." Though it's a statement, he can tell she's seeking confirmation. He nods his head, since she's looking at him, a single, upward jerk of his chin. She frowns.

"How come?"

He has no idea what to make of her. She's constantly checking in with him, asking questions, trying her best to help however she can, or, failing that, at least trying to understand. She's never once treated him like the monster that he is, never once looked at him with disgust or fear. She's always treating him like a person, not a psycho, and while a part of him is uncomfortable with that (he doesn't deserve it), he also can't bring himself to try to discourage her.

"When the tin can sings the echos stab through the quiet and sleep disappears."

"The tin can--oh."

It may or may not be serendipitous that Claptrap chooses just that moment to announce, "Claptrap beatbox time!" and begins to wub loudly. The small robot's tinny voice echoes through the ship's hull, just as advertised. And she immediately understands his meaning.

"Ugh, yeah, that makes sense. Sorry." 

He tilts his head at the apology, uncertain what she's sorry about. It's not _her_ fault the robot can't - or won't - shut up. Apparently she's able to pick up on his confusion, so she shrugs a little and keeps talking.

"I mean like. I know it's not my fault, but it sucks that you can't, and it's like...a way to say 'I feel you'? 'I, also, know how much that sucks'? Like...I don't know, shorthand commiseration?"

He's watching her closely as she speaks, and listening carefully, and a part of him wonders if maybe he shouldn't stare so hard, because what if he's making her uncomfortable? But another part of him doesn't think that's the case. Or at least, if she's uncomfortable, it's not because he's staring. While he does really like letting the voices of the others wash over him as they talk without necessarily paying attention to the words, whenever Maya talks, he instantly focuses. He's listened to her speak enough by now that he's pretty sure this is just how she always talks. A little stilted, a little uncomfortable, and a lot like she's really not used to people actually _hearing_ what she's saying.

"You know, now that I think about it, that's not the best phrase for what it means."

It's _empathy._ She can relate to his bad time, because she's also had bad times.

"I'll sleep when I'm dead!" it's a clumsy attempt at reassurance, and he knows immediately that it didn't work because she frowns.

"You deserve to sleep before then, too."

He doesn't _deserve_ anything nice. He tries to tell her, but the conviction in her voice chokes the words in his throat. So he just stares at her disbelievingly, instead. Maya meets his gaze unflinchingly, as she always has, and after a moment her waiting and slightly puzzled expression shifts to one of determination.

"You _do._" Either she's getting better at interpreting his body language, or she can read minds. He _really_ hopes it's the former. Her insistence and the compassionate look on her face is too much, and he turns his head to stare back out over the water so he doesn't have to see it anymore. Is that a dark smudge of land on the horizon, or is his unreliable brain just playing tricks on him?

"LAND, HO!" That's Claptrap, confirming his hope with a robotic shout loud enough to wake the dead, or maybe also Salvador and Gaige.

"Friggin' _finally_," Maya's muttered exclamation is so quiet, he wouldn't have heard it if she weren't sitting so close.

It's enough of a distraction that she lets the subject drop. Krieg is relieved, because now that it's over he can forget they ever talked about it. And hopefully, so will she.


	9. 5a. The Name Game

"Krieg! Look what I found!" Gaige sounds over the moon, so of course he looks.

It's weird and uncomfortable to see his own (masked) face staring back at him from the grungy piece of paper in the teen's hand. He feels his eyes go wide, and then narrow as he takes in first the photo, then the words underneath.

_Property of Hyperion_

Like hell he is. He's going to burn Hyperion to the ground, and then piss on the ashes.

"Mnngh. You gonna turn me in, Geek Girl?" He tries to inject some humor into his voice, but the question comes out in his usual muted growl.

"Prhththhbhhh!" Gaige immediately makes a face and blows a derisive raspberry, totally unbothered by his tone. "_Hell_ no! I like my good buddy Krieg right where he is, thankyouverymuch!! Besides, we're gonna _smash Hyperion!!_ Then we're gonna walk away from the explosion without looking at it because we are _that badass_, and a hundred billion dollars is gonna rain down on us because when we crash the space station Jack's Evil Billionaire Money Safe is gonna blow up and aaaaaaaall the money's gonna come flying out! And then we'll spend it on like, a super high tech lab where I can build Deathtrap a third arm just for high fives, and we'll also have a barbeque pit outside, and it's gonna be enormous--" 

She indicates the size of this barbeque pit by spreading her skinny arms as wide as they'll go. The poster in her prosthetic hand crinkles cheerfully.

"--And we'll sign you up for one of those fancy meat box delivery services because we'll have _a hundred billion dollars_ and you can have one delivered _every day_ because we'll be so stinkin' _rich_ because no one can spend _one_ billion dollars by themselves and we're gonna have _a hundred billion!!_"

He likes the part of her plan that involves crashing and/or blowing up Helios, and also the part with the barbeque pit and the fancy meat box delivery service.

"Who's getting a hundred billion dollars and a meat box delivery?" Salvador has overheard Gaige's enthusiastic stream of consciousness and decided to investigate.

"We are, after we blow up that space station -" Gaige jabs a demonstrative finger skyward, pointing at Helios "- mop the floor with Jack's face, and loot his fat stacks! What'll you do with your cash?"

"Huh." Salvador thinks for a moment. "Eh, probably fix up my _abuela's_ place, unless she'll let me buy her a new one. Maybe get some new guns."

"Oh my god, Sal, you already have like, thirty!" 

"You can never have too many guns! Right, big guy?"

Krieg still isn't used to being included in conversations, so he blinks and stares at Salvador for a moment before he responds. Salvador waits patiently, already more used to Krieg's speech delay than Krieg is used to conversing. "Yeah!" he finally manages, nodding his head.

Salvador grins widely and turns back to Gaige. "See? And anyway, I only have twenty-eight, and I'm gonna sell these shit pistols so I'm gonna have even less. Dunno why Hyperion brags about how good its firearms are and it can't even make handguns that work right."

"Gotta kill fast and bullets too slow!" Krieg absolutely agrees. Hyperion pistols, much like their loud-mouthed CEO, are all bluster and no bite. Sal looks back to him, expression pleased.

"Exactly! Wanna get rid of that one you picked up, too? We'll see if that Marcus guy has anything better."

"Mngh!" That's an enthusiastic, affirmative grunt from Krieg. Salvador flashes him another grin before turning back to Gaige.

"You comin' too?"

"...Yeah, you're right, let's get a better loadout."

"Nice!"

So they all start walking, and as they go the conversation turns slightly to everyone's favorite shotgun manufacturer, and Krieg forgets all about the poster.


	10. 6. Plan B

"Hey, Maya? Did you see this?" Gaige has a dirty piece of paper in her hand, and Maya glances at it curiously.

"What is it?"

The younger woman holds it out for her to take. She can see what's printed on it even before she reaches out to accept, and she frowns a little when she does. It's a wanted poster - for Krieg. She takes it and studies it briefly; it's not like there's a whole lot of copy to take in.

"...No, I hadn't. Where did you find it?"

"On the train. I wanted to show you sooner, but there really wasn't a good time until now, and I also kinda wanted to show it to Krieg first…"

Gaige had taken such a shine to Krieg, pretty much immediately after meeting him, Maya can't blame her for wanting to share something directly related to him with him before anyone else.

She kind of wishes Gaige had found a moment to share this with her sooner, but understands why she couldn't. The Crimson Raiders' headquarters doesn't afford _much_ privacy, but it's a huge step up from camping out on the Southern Shelf and then cramming into Claptrap's boat for the too-long journey to Three Horns. It's good information to have, but having it sooner wouldn't have changed anything for Maya, so it's not a big deal.

"Did you show him? What did he think?"

"He didn't say much. He asked if I was gonna turn him in, but I don't _think_ he was serious? Anyway of course I told him no way! People aren't _property_, and Hyperion is friggin _evil!_ He's a really good guy! Do you think it was Hyperion that messed him up? Why would they pay such a huge bounty for him? What do you think they _did_ to him?"

Classic Gaige, rapidly firing off a series of questions without waiting to find out if there are answers. 

"I don't know. I really wish I did." She frowns again as she studies the poster. No crimes listed, just that possessive, ugly statement. _People aren't property._ Heh. Maya already likes Gaige, and Gaige just keeps giving her more reasons to like her.

"I hope we can figure it out. Maybe after we figure out this Vault business? There's gotta be something we can do to help him, right?"

"I hope so too. But I'm pretty sure we're already helping him, just by being his friends. Not that I'm opposed to helping him _more,_ if we can. But we're kind of stuck in a holding pattern right now, and we don't have a lot of resources."

"_Yet!_" Gaige's optimism is endless, even if Maya also thinks it may be a little naive. 

"Yet." She agrees, however. At least in this particular case. There's a _lot_ of ground still to cover on Pandora, and they've barely begun to scratch at the surface. But they have a base now, and relative safety. They can regroup, catch their collective breath, research, and plan their next move. 

"Do you wanna keep it?"

"What?" Maya stares suspiciously at the suddenly too-innocent expression on Gaige's face.

"The poster. I bet he'd want you to keep it. I'm pretty sure he's sweet on you." Although she's making a visible effort to maintain it, Gaige's too-innocent expression is steadily losing ground to mischief.

"...What in the world makes you say that?" Maya keeps her tone and expression neutral, which in no way seems to discourage Gaige.

"He can't keep his eyes off you. Well, his eye. He's always looking at you, and looking for you, and you're 'Pretty Lady!', and the rest of us are just Geek Girl and Knife Elbows and whatever."

None of that is news to Maya, though it's the first time someone's spun it this way to her. She's not sure what to think of it, except that it feels vaguely uncomfortable.

"Sure, okay, but Axton's '_Pretty Boy_,' and I'd be willing to bet Krieg's not sweet on _him_."

Gaige rolls her eyes at this defense, and now she's definitely grinning. "It's aaaaaaall in the context, my dear Maya. You don't have to believe me if you don't wanna, but I still think you should keep the poster."

Maya doesn't particularly want to keep it - partially because seeing a photo of her friend's face paired with that disgusting phrase makes her want to set the whole thing on fire, and partially because she's afraid if she does then Gaige is just going to keep fleshing out this utterly bizarre scenario she's describing.

"I'll only keep it if you drop the subject."

"...What subject?" The grin on Gaige's face is now downright wicked, and is completely at odds with the sudden innocence in her voice.

"...Right. Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Her bright, chipper tone has Maya seriously re-evaluating how well she truly does like Gaige, until the younger woman drops the bullshit and pulls the topic back around to where they'd begun. "Seriously, though, if you find anything out? Let me know? And I'll tell you if I find anything, too."

"Yeah." Maya folds the grubby poster in half, and then folds it in half again. _That_ is something she has no trouble agreeing on. "Absolutely."


	11. 6a. No Vacancy

Sanctuary is suffocating.

It's barely the size of a village, with a tiny town square, two looping main streets and a handful of alleys. It would be okay if it were filled top to bottom with bandits - it's a lot of ground to cover and would make for some fantastic bloody massacres. But it's filled with innocents - regular people, downtrodden and resigned, who just want to be left alone but have to wake up every morning and face the reality of Helios, looming closer than the moon, just biding its time until it can vaporize them out of existence.

Regular people who look at _him_ with fear plain on their faces, who scramble to get out of his way when they realize what he is. They clearly see the monster the vault hunters ignore. He's weirdly grateful for the reminder, even as it chafes.

"Just a rabid dog, a stupid brute, a devil, a monster, a _psycho_, no feelings no mind no heart, only bloody pain and mindless murder, only decay and death and the bitter bile of broken bones and teeth and the sweet, _succulent_ misery of evisceration with a BUZZAXE--"

Krieg doesn't want to hurt them, and he doesn't want to scare them. He bites his tongue to stop his mouth from talking and ducks through the entryway into Pierce Station. The Fast Travel within takes him to the abandoned Happy Pig Motel out in Three Horns Valley, and he's able to breathe again.

But only for a moment. Now he's alone under the wide open sky, the silence of the space only broken by the sound of the steam pump powering the motel. It's wild how quickly he'd gotten used to being around the others, and alarming to realize how quickly he'd come to depend on them. If nothing else, their voices cut through his slag-addled brain, simultaneously bringing him some peace and also smothering down the voice in his mind. It doesn't take him long to realize that getting out of Sanctuary hasn't improved his situation at all, because now instead of suffocating he's alone with only the voice in his head for company.

He starts to pace in front of the motel, forcing the constant, nervous energy that plagues his muscles into functioning in some kind of constructive fashion. A million thoughts are going through his brain and he can't tell which are his and which belong to the voice, and he hates that he can't tell. Should he go back? Should he stay here? Should he just straight up _leave?_ He doesn't know what to do, because he doesn't like any of those options. The thought of disappearing and never seeing Maya again is absolutely unbearable, and _that_ realization fills him with anger and panic. Could he forget about her? He's really good at forgetting things - he's forgotten it _all_ before, it's all gone and he doesn't want it back. He probably could forget her. He definitely could. 

But he _doesn't want to._

He doesn't want to forget _any_ of them. Could he _really_ forget something he actually wants to remember? On reflection, he's not sure, and he doesn't know if he even has the guts to try. And his own cowardice pisses him off, and there's nothing nearby to take his rage out on, so he just stomps on in his pacing circle.

So he can't leave. That one's just off the table, no ifs, ands, or buts. If he leaves then sooner or later he'll die, and the idea of dying has lost almost all of the appeal it once possessed. He's forgotten an entire lifetime, and _good riddance_.The summary of this new lifetime is a literal handful weeks, and he's already spent more of that time thinking _actually, maybe I _do_ want to live_ than he's spent seeking to end it all. He could still change his mind, of course, and he knows how to get to Southpaw Steam & Power from here - a huge encampment of bandits live in the underground facility there, and throwing himself into the middle of it by himself would guarantee a beautiful, messy end.

...But not yet.

Which brings him back to the initial decision. Stay here and risk annoying the voice enough for it to talk to him, or go back to Sanctuary and try not to suffocate for what little peace of mind he can grasp?

After a few laps around the yard, Krieg hears the gurgling call of a skag between the loud revolutions of the steam pump. He stops moving and stands very still, straining his ears, listening for it again - yes, _there!_

His legs are moving again before he can think, which is perfect, because he's tired of thinking. He finds a skag burrow just a few minutes' run away from the motel, and he dives into the midst of the pack, slashing with his buzzaxe before the creatures even realize he's there.

Between his buzzaxe and his shotgun, Krieg makes short, messy work of the pack of spiky puke dogs. He's laughing from beginning to end, living completely in the moment. The adrenaline pumps harder with each fresh splash of viscera and gore against his bare skin, and he loses himself in the high until, all too quickly, he runs out of targets.

"I WASN'T FINISHED!" He shouts at nothing and at nobody. Every living thing in the vicinity that had been stupid enough to attack him is now dead.

"Krieg?"

He turns sharply at the sound of his name, and stares when he sees Maya, with her SMG cradled at the ready in her arms, jogging toward him. She stops just a few feet away, and takes in the scene with a subtle shift in expression from "worried" to "relieved".

"Having fun?"

"I _was!_" Everything is dead now, so there's no more fun to be had. He watches as she nudges a disembodied skag head with her foot, and wonders why she's suddenly frowning. After a moment, she looks back up and meets his gaze with hers.

"Krieg, is everything okay?"

"Yeah!" the response is automatic, because everything is okay _now_, but then he hesitates and changes his answer. "No!" The adrenaline is fading fast, and its departure is pulling back all of the horrid thinky thoughts he'd been having before he'd found the skags.

"...Can you tell me about it?"

"Mnggh..." He's not unwilling - it's just that it's a big question and he's not sure how to answer it. He fidgets with his buzzaxe, turning it over in his hands and grumbling wordlessly as he dislodges a chunk of flesh from between the sawblade and the blade guard. He'll have to take the whole thing apart and clean it up later. Maya waits quietly, letting him gather his thoughts. For all the good he's sure that will do.

"The outside quiet is too loud and the inside noise is choking!"

"Huh. Okay. Where is 'outside?'"

"Here!" He throws out an arm and gestures helpfully to indicate all of the Valley.

"Got it. And where is 'inside?'"

"Mnngh..." He looks back over in the direction of the motel, where the fast travel waits. "...Sanctuary."

"Hm." She follows his gaze with hers and looks back over her shoulder briefly before turning to face him again. "So we either need some volume control or some clean air, huh?" Bless the woman. She just keeps getting better and better at breaking down what he says to figure out what he means. "So, Sanctuary's suffocating you. What're you choking on? The buildings? Or the people? Or something else?"

"So many small lives, fragile and soft, not hurting anything, not hurting anybody, just living and wanting to live but someone let a monster in and they're scared of it and they hide from it! It doesn't want to hurt them or scare them so it leaves but the quiet sky on the other side is deafening and it's just as bad as the noisy fear and _I don't know what to do!_"

The expression on her face changes rapidly as he narrates his problem, from interest to surprise, then to sympathy, and finally to _understanding_. He misses the last one because by the time he admits he doesn't know what to do he can't look at her anymore. He turns first his head and then his whole body to the right, hiding behind the blind side of his mask.

"Krieg." Her voice is quiet, but insistent. He fights the urge to turn his head back to look at her again, the muscle tic in his neck and shoulders jumping with his effort to remain still. "Hey, big guy. Can you look at me?" He hears the sound of deliberate footsteps. She's walking a little closer, and circling around, and for a moment he's afraid she's going to move herself back into his line of sight - but she doesn't. She stops right before he can see her again, leaving it up to him to meet her in the middle. And so, after a long, fidgeting moment, he does. It's not like he could deny her anything she asks, and she so rarely asks anything of him. So he looks at her. And when he meets her eyes, she smiles at him, and weirdly, he feels a little better.

"Wanna know something funny?" The way she says the word 'funny' makes him think she's using it as a substitute for a different word. He blinks, and tilts his head to one side, waiting for her to continue. "Back on Athenas, _I_ was the monster. I lived in a monastery for my whole life, and was never allowed outside the walls. I had no idea what the rest of the world was like, never knew anyone besides the monks who raised me. My whole life, they told me I had a great destiny to fulfill, that my powers as a siren would keep the people there safe from the rising storm. And my whole life, they told the people of Athenas that they served a siren, a savior, a goddess, a creature who demanded tithes and sacrifice, and that the people must do as they said if they didn't want to suffer the wrath of the monster that lived in the temple. And I had no idea, until the day they 'presented' me to the people there."

He's hyper focused as she speaks, watching her face and listening with his full attention. At the beginning she'd managed to keep her voice light, but as she talks and brings up obviously bad memories, her tone darkens.

"They told me to kill a man in front of...I don't even know, there were probably hundreds of people there. _'Sinners'_, he called them. The man was screaming, begging for his life. The way he looked at me...Ugh." She frowns and scrubs a hand over her face. "They called him a criminal. They were going to make me kill him because they said he owed them _money._ His whole crime was that he was too poor to pay them their extortion money."

She pauses again, takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly. 

"So I killed the head monk, told the people they didn't have to listen to the assholes at the monastery anymore, and left."

When Maya finishes talking, Krieg stays quiet. The thing she just shared with him seems so personal, he has no idea what to do with it, much less how to respond. And now that she's told him, Maya seems ill at ease, too. She'd holstered her SMG at some point, and now crosses her arms a little uncomfortably over her chest.

"Um. So, basically, I guess what I'm getting at is, if you're a monster, then so am I. Do you...Hm. Kinda counterintuitive, I guess, but do you think it'd be less suffocating if you stayed inside, while you're in town?"

It's a yes or no question, but he honestly has no clue. He's still trying to wrap his mind around the idea that there are people who exist who think _Maya_ is a monster. When he doesn't answer her, she frowns a little, and steps just a bit closer to him.

"Krieg? Would you be willing to try it?"

He hesitates, but again, he can't deny her. Especially since she _is_ trying to help, trying to find a solution. He won't know if it helps until he tries, and if she's willing to give him the chance, then he'll take it. So he nods his head, slowly and deliberately. She smiles then, and he feels better just seeing the expression.

"Awesome! Want to come back with me, now? I think that Dr. Zed guy has a job he wanted to tell us about."

"I'm ready to shank and smile!"

"Well, then, let's go!" Her smile becomes a grin, and she turns and starts the walk back to the motel. He follows, still feeling a little apprehensive, but also optimistic. And when she looks back at him and shortens her stride until he's walking beside her instead of behind her, the optimism beats back the apprehension just a little bit more.


	12. 6b. Too Close for Missiles

Maya's known for a while now that Krieg doesn't sleep well. She'd guessed it during their time in the Southern Shelf, and he'd confirmed it when they'd talked during the last leg of the ship journey to Three Horns. At the time she'd thought maybe it was the cold, or the stress of the situation, or - like he'd told her - the grating sound of Claptrap's voice.

But now that they're in Sanctuary and the whole group has had a chance to decompress and get their bearings, she's sure there's more to it than that.

He doesn't like to stay in the Crimson Raiders' HQ. Not that Maya blames him - the woman who seems to live on the first floor of the building is equally fascinated by Krieg and by Maya. _"Oh! A tame psycho! And a siren! What an opportunity!"_ Dr. Patricia Tannis is the woman's name, and she makes Maya uneasy.

Tannis isn't shy about her desire to poke, prod, and _experiment_ on the two of them, and she brings it up often enough Maya worries she might actually attempt to follow through one day. So far Krieg has shown an astonishing amount of restraint interacting with her, but the obvious shift in his body language when she's around is a huge red flag for Maya. It's shocking to her that apparently Tannis doesn't notice the overt hostility.

_"Touch me and I'll eat your hands."_ Tannis also didn't appear to take his one, very clear verbal warning seriously, either. So Maya makes it a point to always be with Krieg when he's in the HQ, and the two of them never sleep there. This arrangement is partially for Tannis' sake, and a little bit for Maya's sake, but it's mostly for Krieg's.

Gaige has commandeered an abandoned garage not too far from there, although considering Sanctuary's size, any location within the walls might be considered "not too far" from the Raiders' HQ. She's outfitted it with a workbench, a table, two chairs, a stool, and - at Maya's request - a pair of cots. Maya had pretended not to notice Gaige and Axton's pointed eye contact and mutual waggling of their brows before Gaige had cheefully agreed to her request.

Krieg is, according to the others, at his most peaceful when Maya is nearby. She wonders a little at this, but has no way to confirm for herself without doing something creepy like stealth video recording. Since she's not down with that, she just takes them at their word. Anyway, she doesn't mind being around him so it's not a huge deal to sleep in the same space. And if her presence helps him even a little bit, then that's a good enough reason to do it.

He wakes her up a lot with quiet mumblings in his sleep. Sometimes sensical, but mostly not. They're never happy-sounding, and she always stays awake listening to them until they stop.

"Stop it _stop it **stop it STOP IT STOP IT!!**_"

The first time Krieg wakes her up by screaming, Maya nearly has a heart attack. The garage's shitty acoustics bounce his voice back and amplify it unpleasantly and just generally make an already terrible experience even worse. She sits bolt upright in her cot, eyes wide, looking around wildly in the dark for the source of his panic. Of course, there's nothing to see. Krieg is also wide awake. Whatever night terror caused his loud vocalization has also caused him to overturn his cot, and she can hear him flailing violently on the floor, apparently twisted up in his blanket which she can hear is beginning to rip.

"_I'm gonna _choke_ you with your own small intestine!_"

"Krieg!" When she calls his name, he doesn't seem to hear her - he just rants on as the blanket tears fully in two and he finally manages to scramble onto his hands and knees. Maya, meanwhile, fumbles for a light.

"I'm gonna carve my _name_ into your _ribs!_"

"_Krieg!_" Her fingers find the switch of the small desk lamp at the head of her cot, and the dim little light illuminates the area by her cot and casts the rest of the garage deeper into shadow.

This time, he hears her. Either that, or it's the light that catches his attention. In any case, the shouting stops, and he looks up sharply, right at her.

He doesn't sleep in his mask - he always peels it off after lights-out and sleeps with it next to his pillow. And although Maya is used to rising with the sun, Krieg is always somehow awake before her, and always has the mask strapped back into place before she can rub the sleep from her eyes. The tiny desk light gives her a vague idea of his face, but little else. A mouth, a nose, and the whites of his eyes, but the shadows in the garage are so deep there's no definition beyond that.

Still, her eyes are drawn to his, and she can see his widen when their eyes meet. He stares at her for a split second before turning sharply away, bringing up one big hand to cover his face.

"_Don't look at me!_"

Later she'll realize he likely thought that she could see him as well as he could see her, illuminated as she was in the dim halo of the desk lamp, but in the moment, his desperate, agonized plea is all she can focus on.

"I won't. I'm not. I'm gonna turn the light off now, okay?" She doesn't wait for him to respond - she's not sure he _will_ respond, so she shuts it off, just like she told him. With the light extinguished, she holds her breath and tries to will her heart to stop pounding in her ears so that she can listen for him.

Krieg is still and quiet for what feels like a very long time, but it can't be that long - she hears him start to move again before she feels the urge to let out her held breath and take in a new one. He's still on his hands and knees - she thinks - and he begins muttering to himself and scuffing quietly along the floor. He's probably looking for his mask.

"Forget it, forget it, forget it, push it back, push it down, _drown_ it under the blood and slag, don't let her see, don't _ever_ let her see--"

"Krieg?" Maya has no idea if he's talking about her or someone else, but it feels disingenuous to listen to him like this if he's forgotten that she's here.

"_Don't look!_" His response to her is immediate, and the panic in his rough voice hurts her heart.

"I'm not looking. I'm not going to look. I promise." She keeps her voice calm and steady, hoping that somehow that might help calm him. It's pitch dark in here anyway; she couldn't see him even if he didn't care.

"...Promise?"

"I promise. I won't look."

There's several long seconds of silence before he grunts his acknowledgement. And then goes back to scuffing around on the floor. Maya frowns as she listens to the faint noises of searching.

" Are you trying to find your mask? Do you want me to turn the light back on?"

"Yes. No."

"Mm. Do you want me to leave so you can turn the light on?"

There's another long, quiet pause devoid of searching sounds, before he answers. "No."

And that has her at a complete loss. He wants her to stay, and she doesn't really want to go, so she stays. But the feeling of helplessness is frustrating. Krieg resumes his blind search in silence, apparently finished muttering to himself for the time being. She has no idea how much time passes before a loud scuff interjects into his quiet scuffs , and he announces, "Ha! I win!"

"Found it?"

"Fou~nd it!" He repeats her question back to her in an affirmative sing-song that makes her smile.

"Can I turn the light back on?" 

"Yeah!"

She waits for a moment, just to be sure, before leaning over to the desk and tapping the lamp on. His mood has flipped a total 180, which she's glad for. She has no idea what kind of horrors would cause a fearless guy like Krieg to scream like he had, and what would cause him to be so vehement about not letting her see his face, and frankly, she doesn't want to know.

The dim little light does a dismal job at illuminating anything, but it's good enough Krieg can see to set his toppled cot back upright and pick up his pillow and the pieces of his torn blanket. He drops the bedding on the cot in a heap, and then stands quietly for a long moment, staring down at it. Maya guesses he's not exactly thrilled at the prospect of laying back down and trying to sleep again. The little digital clock that Gaige keeps on her workbench tells Maya that it's only about two hours earlier than she normally likes to get up - not great as far as getting a full night's sleep is concerned, but also not the worst possible outcome. Her heart rate is only just now starting to settle from the shock of his loud outburst and the following tense blind search. If he's doubtful about getting back to sleep, she's right there with him. So she gets to her feet and neatly folds the blanket on her cot.

"Kinda early, but do you want to go do that job Loggins asked about?" 

He twitches visibly when she speaks up - she's not sure if it's just the involuntary muscle tic that plagues him from time to time or if he's startled by her sudden question.

He doesn't quite turn around to face her, but looks over his shoulder in her direction. "Mnnng…?"

She recognizes that as a sound of uncertain interest, and realizes he's probably forgotten who Loggins is.

"He wants us to burn some schlub's volleyball net."

"Yes!!" His enthusiasm is instant and, well, endearing. He whirls in place to face her, every line of his muscular body broadcasting impatient excitement. Maya can't help smiling at that response. He's obviously feeling better - and now she's beginning to feel better, too.

"Awesome. Let's go start some fires."


	13. 6c. Do No Harm

Some bandit camps hide more bandits than others. The underground warrens of Southpaw Steam & Power is literally crawling with them. Maya is super glad the whole team is here for this particular raid. Even with everyone going all in, though, the overwhelming numbers do sometimes get...well, overwhelming.

Maya will never get used to the feeling of taking too many hits in the midst of a fight and dropping to her knees to very literally fight for her life, even though by now she's experienced it a least a dozen times. Sometimes she can get a second wind on her own, and sometimes one of the others rushes to her side to assist. But this time--

"_Monster down, angel up!_"

She hears Krieg shout, and in an instant she's back on her feet, feeling a hundred percent better. _That's_ never happened before.

"Krieg!?" She whips around to look at the big man. He's on his hands and knees on the ground where she'd been just a second before. The tides of any fight can turn astonishingly quickly, and Krieg is like a human bullet sponge, but she's _never_ seen him go down so fast. "_How did you do that?_"

He doesn't answer her question, of course. He just laughs and keeps his assault rifle firing into the fight in front of them. She's pretty sure she may never get an answer - not because she thinks he'd deliberately keep a secret, but because she realizes that _he_ probably doesn't even know how he did it. That's how it is with most of the things he does. Maya had come to Pandora to find answers to her questions about sirens. She certainly hadn't expected to discover even _more_ questions - about psychos.

Or at least, questions about this one, specific psycho.

She moves closer to help him back up, but he manages on his own before she can reach him.

"I'm not full yet!" He trades his assault rifle for his buzzaxe, and dives into the thick of the fight, laughing his loud, deranged laughter as he cleaves through flesh and bone and showers the whole area in blood and viscera. Maya shakes her head, as if the motion might physically clear the dozens of questions buzzing in her mind. They've got a fight to finish, and her friends need backup. She can wonder how Krieg instantly revived her later.


	14. 6d. Neither Rain Nor Sleet Nor Skags

"Hey Knife Elbows! Lemme see your gun!"

Krieg and Zer0 are perched on a steep rise in Three Horns Valley, overlooking a large collection of ramshackle buildings clumped together at the edge of a large lake.

For two such outwardly different beings, the pair had quickly discovered that they get along like a house on fire. Between Zer0's cryptic haikus and Krieg's equally cryptic word salad, they often leave the rest of the team mystified. But that's really just a side benefit to their friendship. It hadn't taken long to figure out that they make a delightfully efficient team. Typically when they work together, Krieg rushes in to stir up the various bandit nests up close, while Zer0 snipes at the riled-up targets from a distance, popping headshots left and right while Krieg mows down the center with his axe.

Zer0 turns their head away from the sniper rifle's sight to look at Krieg, and projects a holographic question mark in front of their face plate. Up until now Krieg has never expressed an interest in sniper rifles. But, up until now, he's also never been stuck so far away from their target that his preferred assault rifles, SMGs, and shotguns are basically useless. Normally Zer0 might decline to hand over their favorite Jakobs, but they like Krieg, and besides, they're bored. 

Axton had told them to wait here and not start any shit until he can check out the bounty board by the Happy Pig Motel, and they've been waiting for at least _ten whole minutes_ now. That's practically _forever_.

So the holographic question mark flashes and changes to a holographic ":)" emote, and they present the rifle to Krieg. The big man accepts it with a happy and slightly deranged little giggle.

Unlike most guns, the rifle doesn't look like a toy in Krieg's huge hands. He immediately raises it, nestles the rifle butt against his left shoulder, and peers through the scope down at the bandit base below. Observing this, it suddenly makes sense to Zer0 why Krieg might eschew such a weapon (besides his obvious penchant for the up-close and personal delivery provided by his preferred shotguns). The man appears to be predominantly right-handed, and with his right eye covered, using any sort of scope would be a challenge. 

Although he doesn't seem to be having a difficult time currently. Zer0 watches with interest as Krieg picks a target, follows it with a surprisingly controlled and steady motion, gives juuuuust the right about of lead, and --

"Mnguhuohahaha!" The satisfied giggle Krieg lets out as the distant bandit's head explodes is weirdly endearing. Not that Zer0 has a lot of room to comment on_weird_, but hey.

"Nice!"

Is this the sort of thing Axton told them not to do? Absolutely.

"Do another one!"

Does Zer0 care? Absolutely not.

Krieg manages two more headshots before his patience frays and he loses the focus needed for sniping. Still, Zer0 is impressed. They didn't know the man had it in him.

"It's strangling time!!" Krieg declares as he shoves the Jakobs back into Zer0's hands and leaps down the cliff to run at the camp. Zer0's faceplate flashes a delighted ":D" emote that is seen by nobody, and the assassin settles in to provide their buddy with some cover fire.


	15. 7. Hunting the Firehawk

The Firehawk is a siren.

The Firehawk is a _siren._

The _Firehawk_ is a _siren._

The monks at the abbey always told her that patience is a virtue, but honestly? Fuck them and _fuck_ virtue. Maya is on pins and needles the second she sets eyes on Lilith, and she is _beyond_ frustrated when she can't talk to her right away. She has so many questions, has had so many questions for _so long_, that she thinks having to wait _even longer_ to have any of them answered is going to drive her insane.

She refuses to leave Sanctuary once they get back - she's not going anywhere until she has a chance to talk to Lilith. The others are all pretty understanding, and also various states of exhausted, so no one argues. Axton and Salvador disappear down to Moxxi's, Zer0 disappears to who-knows-where, and Gaige takes Krieg with her to the small abandoned garage she's claimed as her workshop. He'll stay with her there for hours, mostly quietly, listening to her run-on monologue as she tinkers, and sometimes helping out when she needs a second pair of hands for something.

Which leaves Maya alone in the Crimson Raiders headquarters with just her thoughts and the occasional noise of Tannis, puttering around in her ground-floor lab.

It's not an easy wait. She's too wound up to read, and she can't even clear her mind enough to meditate. She sits rigidly in her favorite spot on the second-floor couch, and stares at the posters littering the walls without really seeing them.

She has no idea how much time has passed when she finally hears Lilith come in - the other siren exchanges muffled greetings with Tannis, and Maya clearly hears Tannis say, "Oh, yes, she went upstairs a while ago. She's still up there as far as I know." 

The resulting footsteps on the stairs must be Lilith's, and Maya all but leaps to her feet - the nervous anticipation is just too much anymore to continue sitting.

So when Lilith rounds the corner, the first thing she sees is Maya, standing awkwardly in the corridor by the couch, and staring at her with wide eyes. Probably not the best way to make a first impression, but Maya really has no interest in pretending to be cool and suave - her need for _answers_ is too overpowering.

When Lilith sees Maya, her face lights up. "Oh, good, you're still here. I want to talk to you!"

"Yes - good. Same - same here." 

When Maya says this, Lilith smiles - a gesture Maya automatically and sincerely returns. She feels an absolute sense of _connection_ as they look at each other, and it's like nothing she's ever felt before.

"Great!" Lilith almost sounds breathless - like she just felt it, too. It finally occurs to Maya, right then, that if Lilith is the first siren _she's_ ever met, then Maya must be the first siren _Lilith_ has met. In a universe as big as this, and with sirens as rare as they are...what are the chances? The redhead gestures to the couch Maya just vacated, and sits down. "Let's talk!"

They wind up talking for hours. For as cool as Lilith looks, from her hair to her attitude, Maya quickly discovers that the other siren is just as socially awkward as she feels, and she couldn't be more delighted. They tell each other about their lives, about where they grew up and about what lead them to Pandora. It's no surprise Lilith also came here to learn more about sirens, and a little disappointing to find out that since she's been here, Lilith hasn't really learned much. Weirdly, Maya's not as disappointed as she would have guessed upon discovering that all of her questions still don't have answers. She realizes she's found something that's just as good as answers: Meeting Lilith.

When they finally wrap up their conversation in the wee hours of the morning, Maya is able to go to sleep more or less content. Their long talk might not have been exactly what she had wanted, but it's definitely what she'd needed.


	16. 7a. In Memoriam

Krieg knows he's a selfish and undeserving monster who has no right to happiness, much less _friendship_, but somehow, despite that, he's found both. He may be an unapologetic masochist, but turning away from the people who have offered him their time, companionship, and a cause is just not something he has in him to do. He's 100% ride or die for each of them, even Axton, who still occasionally side eyes him suspiciously and doesn't typically go out of his way to interact.

The commando is full of chutzpah and bravado, and in another life - or maybe even just in his past - was probably a crazy-ass frat boy. Even though he doesn't seem to trust Krieg (not that Krieg blames him), he's a good teammate and a hell of a good combat buddy, and Krieg loves running into the thick of a bandit camp when he knows Axton is at his back. The man's machine turret is old school and _badass as hell_. It seems like every time they fight together, the turret has some new trick or upgrade to show off.

Axton had bonded first and best with Gaige, almost immediately taking on a big brother role. The two get along like a house on fire in and out of fights, flinging good-natured insults back and forth even as they cover each other's backs and grind their opposition into a bloody mist. Krieg is pretty sure most of Axton's tolerance of him is due to Gaige's glowing endorsement, and not anything he himself has done.

Gaige always has a smile - or, well, a mischievous and megalomaniacal grin - for Krieg whenever she sees him. The teen is shockingly outgoing and physically affectionate. It had been a surprise the first time she'd smacked him on the shoulder after he'd made a smartass remark to her that had her grinning and giggling. From there she'd gone all in - coaxing high fives and fist bumps, sometimes hooking her elbow through his as they walk, crowding him in the back of the bandit technical on longer drives and using him like a living cushion, demanding piggyback rides (although to be fair she hadn't begun to demand those until after the first time he'd offered one), and even hugging him. He'll never forget the first time she'd hugged him - flinging herself at him from a run, slamming her skinny frame into him, and wrapping her arms around his neck while she laughed. He'd been too shocked to hug her back, but that hadn't seemed to bother her - she'd given his neck a good affectionate squeeze before dropping back to the ground with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"My _god_, Krieg, haven't you ever heard of a _shower?_"

"I shower all the time!" Mostly in things like blood, viscera, machine oil, bile…"You gonna give me some _soap?_"

"Pffff! I'm gonna give you the girliest, floweriest soap I can find!"

"Good! Do it!" If she gets it for him, he'll use it. With water, even.

"You need flowery soap? We should visit my _abuela_ \- she'll hook you up!"

Salvador and Krieg are two of a kind; kindred souls; brothers from another mother; fraternal twins of property damage, mayhem, and petty crime. Maya and Axton do their absolute best to avoid leaving the pair of them alone together without any supervision, especially within Sanctuary's city limits. It's not that they're malicious, or even particularly bent on burning the world down. It's more that they have a tendency to feed off of one another, egging each other on to newer, better shenanigans, and the collateral damage is quick to stack up when they go off. This is fine when the pair are aimed at a bandit camp, but even then things can get dicey, because on the occasions Krieg becomes so wound up he needs a firm voice telling him to chill, Salvador will encourage him to dial it up to twelve, instead.

Krieg is pretty sure he and Salvador drive Zer0 absolutely insane sometimes. When the assassin is trying to be a sneaky ninja, the noise made by their two loud meat pals inevitably blows all their cover, and any dramatics Zer0 might have hoped to enact are immediately nullified. They claim to always be looking for a challenge, though, and what could be more challenging than pulling off a successful surprise assault with a pair of noisy, obnoxious berserkers in tow? Probably not much, Krieg thinks. He's pretty sure Zer0 hasn't even managed one so far. Maybe that's why they've stuck with the group for so long. They're determined to be the best sneak ninja despite all the loud boys they've found themselves babysitting.

Out of all of the group, the assassin seems to be the one most dedicated to putting on a mysterious and cool facade. It is, Krieg had quickly realized, literally just a facade. In reality, Zer0 is a giant nerdlord. Krieg doesn't remember the media Zer0 references in some of their haikus, but he recognizes the references when he hears them. He _knows_ they're peak nerd, and the juxtaposition of this Tryhard McCoolguy with their nerdy callouts always makes him grin.

"What're you smiling about?" Maya can't see his face, but these days she always seems to know when he's smiling. He loves that she can just tell.

"The assassin's trap card activates on Saturday morning!"

"...o...kay…?" She doesn't understand, and he has no way to explain it because he doesn't remember _why_ it's funny, just that it is. His smile fades, because he wants to tell her so she can share in the joke, but he doesn't remember what the joke _is_. He knows she can tell when his smile goes away, because her expression changes from puzzled to reassuring, and she smiles warmly and places a hand on his arm.

"Don't worry about it."

He'll still worry - at least, until he forgets - but her reassurance does make him feel better. Everything about her makes him feel better. When he loses himself in bloody carnage, riding the high of violence and viscera, the world goes red and out of focus. With the blood pounding in his ears and soaking his hands, the man disappears and the monster comes out, aggressive and feral and unstoppable. When he runs out of bullets he has his axe, and when he loses his axe he has his fists. The monster would paint the whole planet red with blood, would drown in the adrenaline until he choked for real, until his tireless body finally tired out, until he was too slow and too stupid to dodge killing blows, and finally, _finally_ end it all.

But in the midst of the out-of-focus, bloody chaos is Maya, perfectly clear, contrasting sharp blue against a sea of red. She doesn't even have to pull him back from the brink every time, not any more, not like when they first met. He can get himself out now, leaving the violent euphoria behind and pushing the monster down when it's all over, willingly, happily pulling back so that he can high five her and they can grin at each other in the middle of the sea of corpses they've made together.

All of his new friends are like that - sharp, strong lifelines he can grasp to come back from madness, but Maya is the brightest out of all of them, and the easiest to see. He'll follow her out of hell without a second thought. And maybe one day he'll even be able to thank her for it.


	17. 7b. Cult Following

"You have acid punches? _I_ want acid punches!"

"Uh...well, I've never really thought about how I do it before, but I guess I could try to teach you."

It turns out Lilith isn't a very good teacher - so it's lucky Maya is an excellent student. The redhead's scattered attempt at a how-to explanation makes little sense to her, but it's just enough to give her an idea where to begin.

After a few failed attempts at melting the stack of tires they've decided to use as a training dummy, the impact of Maya's fist starts an explosive fire, instead.

"Uh...that's...close, I guess?" Lilith clearly isn't sure whether or not to call that a success.

"Heh. That's good enough for me." Actually, it's a little better, if Maya's being honest; fire is more her style, anyway. It's cleaner than corrosion, for one thing. Even if the burning tires smell like ass.

"You know what? Fair." Lilith is obviously relieved that her poor instruction yielded some kind of result, even if it's not the one they were aiming for. "Hey, that reminds me, though - your psycho buddy? He seems _really_ good at setting stuff and bandits on fire. Do you know how he does it? Is it his axe?"

Krieg had had a blast at the Enkindling - he'd giggled at the irony of burning Incinerator Clayton alive for hours after the fact. It's no surprise Lilith had noticed his enthusiasm in the brief time she'd made her appearance at that particular shitshow.

"...you know, I don't actually know. He probably doesn't, either. But I bet we could figure it out."

At least insofar as determining whether Krieg's buzzaxe sets things on fire, or if it's actually Krieg himself. If the cause of the fires is the latter, then they're right back at _how does he do that_, which she already knows he doesn't have an answer for.

"_Who's barbecuing without me?_"

"Well, speak of the devil." Lilith's voice is filled with wry amusement at the impeccable timing.

"It's not a barbecue," Maya feels the need to point out. They've all eaten questionable things since the train wreck in the Windshear Waste, but she'd have to be at least that desperate again to put tire-smoked anything in her mouth. However, she can see Krieg preparing to look disappointed at her statement, so she hastily adds, "I just figured out how to fire punch." 

That has the effect she'd hoped, distracting him immediately from pre-disappointment and nudging him right along to interested enthusiasm. 

"I wanna see!" She can tell he's grinning under his mask, and she grins right back.

"We should make it a contest. You set things on fire when you hit them too, right, big guy?"

It's probably comical the way both Krieg and Maya turn their heads sharply to look at Lilith. It would explain the smirk the redhead gives Maya. Maya raises an eyebrow, unimpressed. Lilith winks at her and turns her attention to Krieg.

"Well? How about it?"

"I'll burn the whole planet down!" Krieg is obviously up for it.

"Try not to burn the _whole_ planet. We still need somewhere to live." Lilith seems wholly unconcerned that Krieg might follow through on his words. Even though Maya is _mostly_ unconcerned, she wishes Lilith would take...this...whatever it is...a little more seriously.

"Maya?"

Now they're both looking at her. She wants to say _no_ \- she's not interested in _competing_ with Krieg. But she's even less interested in disappointing him, especially since it's such a simple thing, and easy to do.

"....Sure, okay, let's burn some shit."

"Yes yes yesyesyesyesyes!"

They round up some more tires and get to punching. Lilith tries to do a countoff and have them go at the same time, but Krieg had specifically wanted to watch Maya, so she insists they take turns so he can see the fire lighting take place.

Her second stack of tires lights up even faster and brighter than the first, and Krieg whoops and laughs uproariously as it ignites. It feels good to make him laugh like that, loud and delighted, and Maya grins at him while they wait for him to calm down.

"Okay, Killer, now it's your turn."

"Melt for me, pastycakes!" Krieg's huge fist impacts the tire stack, and just like with Maya's, the whole thing lights up with impressive speed. And then Krieg lights up, too. This brings the total number of fires in the yard to four; three burning tire stacks and one flaming psycho.

"Um...was that...was that supposed to happen?" Lilith looks between Krieg - who is laughing again, clearly elated as he burns - and Maya, who just shrugs. The redhead is clearly unsure whether or not she should be concerned.

"It just happens, sometimes." It still worries her, honestly, because for all his affinity Krieg isn't actually immune to fire, but right now his shield is eating the damage, and it's only a few seconds before the fire burns out.

"How was that, Firehawk?" Krieg had latched on to the cult of the Firehawk's name for Lilith, and no amount of asking has convinced him to change it. But after having it pointed out that it's a better nickname than "Knife Elbows," Lilith had decided she didn't mind it so much, after all.

"A-plus, Killer. I'm gonna have to call that a tie. Nice form, you two." Lilith grins at Maya, and then turns to Krieg. "So how do you--"

"Awwww, crap, someone's burnin' all my tires again! Hey! Lil! Did'ja catch the tire fire bandit?"

The black oily smoke and smell of burning rubber has attracted Scooter, who seems to pop up out of nowhere and appear next to Lilith. But before anyone can respond, he espies Krieg and draws his own conclusions. "Awwww, man, it's the psycho what done it, isn't it? I told'ja he's gonna set the whole city on fire--"

"Actually, it was me. I mean, I asked them to do it." Lilith interrupts him before Maya can get too indignant. That gives Scooter pause. For about a second.

"'_Them?_'" He looks around, probably checking for more psychos. When his eyes fall on Maya, she gives him a little wave.

"Yeah, them. Look, we'll replace your tires, it's not like there aren't hundreds out in the Dust just waiting for someone to claim them."

"Okay, but, they's out in _The Dust_. Who even has time to go haulin' that crap back here? And I ain't gonna _pay_ no one to replace the stuff they took in the first place--"

Maya decides this is the perfect time to make a discreet exit. She sidles over to Krieg while Scooter is occupied with Lilith, and hooks her elbow around his the way she's seen Gaige do so many times. He jumps at the unexpected contact, and she can read the surprise in his eye when he looks down at her. She just smiles conspiratorially and tugs at his arm, a silent request to follow her. He's clearly puzzled, but moves easily when she does. Slipping away together without being noticed is as simple as that.

Though the heavy black smoke screen produced by the flaming tires probably helps.

Walking through Sanctuary with her arm hooked around Krieg's feels weirdly nice, so she doesn't make any effort to pull away once they're clear of the crime scene. The contact doesn't seem to bother him, either. He's hot to the touch, even through the bandages covering his right arm. She figures it's probably because he was just literally on fire only a few short minutes ago, and doesn't think about it more than that.

"How _do_ you do that?" It's as good a time as any to ask, since they were already on the topic. Taking turns punching things on fire had also given Maya a chance to watch Krieg do his thing, too - so now there's no question about the cause of the fires he starts. The question that remains now is the one she just asked, though she doesn't have high expectations that he'll be able to tell her.

"Mnnnngg…" That's a thinking grumble, one he makes fairly often. She waits patiently for him to work out whatever he needs to work out, even if it just winds up being _I don't know._ They're almost to the stairway leading to Moxxi's place before he has something to add to his thoughtful grumbling.

"The fire's always burning! I just let it out."

"That's...clear as mud." She's also not sure if that explanation is better or worse than _I don't know._

Krieg is obviously amused by her reply. "Pfffff! How do _you_ do it?" 

"Well, I--" Maya begins to answer his question automatically, and then cuts herself off because she almost immediately realizes what her potentially long-winded explanation will eventually boil down to is basically..._that._

The fire's always burning. She just lets it out.

She stops walking and looks up at him, and because their arms are still linked, Krieg stops walking, too. He has to turn his whole head to see her, and the late afternoon light is just good enough she can see his eye. He's obviously grinning; there's a set of fine lines in the corner of his eye that deepen when he smiles, and seeing that tiny clue into his entire expression gives her a thrill.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Want to get a drink?"

"Yes!"

Later, after drinks and dinner, it occurs to her that she could ask _where does the fire come from?_ The source of _her_ fire is in her nature. She's a siren, and sirens have crazy, reality-bending powers. Krieg may be a psycho, but he's also a human being. Non-siren human beings generally _don't_ have crazy, reality-bending powers. Even the burning psychos they've encountered get their fire from an external source. They don't just _make_ it. Not the way Krieg seems to.

As soon as she thinks of that question, however, Maya resolves never to ask it. Or, well, she'll never ask _Krieg._ Somehow, she suspects the answer might have something in common with the source of his psychosis. She's _also_ beginning to think that his psychosis is related to the wanted poster she still keeps folded and tucked away in her pocket. And since all of that is shaping up to look like one giant, Helios-shaped landmine, she's content to exercise her patience on this one.


	18. 7c. Positive Self Image

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who's reading and enjoying this so far! ♥
> 
> On this, the dawn of the release of BL3, I have two more chapters lined up and ready to post tomorrow and Saturday, but I may wind up missing a couple days due to my very mature, very adult plan to play BL3 all weekend until my eyeballs fall out, starting tonight, after I pick up my copy. I should be back to a chapter an evening once the new week rolls in, though, since I get about 70% of my writing done during my breaks at work, and as I _do_ try to emulate a mature adult most days, I'll be back to work as usual on Monday.
> 
> Happy BL3 Day, everyone!

There's a couch on the second floor of the Crimson Raider HQ where Maya likes to read. She curls up and crams herself into the crook where the couch arm and back meet, and loses herself between the pages of a book for whatever length of time manages to pass between missions and emergencies.

She's mildly surprised (and admittedly a little put out) one day when she turns the corner to claim her spot and finds it occupied by one (1) sleeping psycho. Krieg's long limbs are perfect for sprawling, and he's using them to great effect to sprawl very thoroughly, right in her spot. It briefly occurs to her to wake him and ask him to move - she knows he'll do it - but the even rise and fall of his chest makes her hesitate. She knows he doesn't sleep well - hell, at this point, everyone knows he doesn't sleep well. He's plagued by nightmares she can't even imagine, nightmares that at best have him grumbling and talking in his sleep, and at worst cause him to wake screaming.

But for right now, his sleep is peaceful. He's fallen asleep in his mask, which he often does, and will likely wake up with a crick in his neck from sleeping slouched upright. Maya observes the rise and fall of his chest for several moments as she considers whether or not to risk disturbing him or to relocate. Eventually, she decides to join him.

There's room enough for her on the other side of the couch, so she settles there, curling up as usual and tucking herself into the crook of the arm and back. Tennis can be heard occasionally, doing whatever it is she does down on the ground floor. Other than that and the occasional strains of Claptrap's beatboxing drifting in from the open balcony, the building is quiet. The ambient noises combined with the peaceful sound of Krieg's breathing envelop her as she opens her book, and accompany her for hours as she reads. 

She's not sure if she notices the stillness of Krieg's breath or feels the intensity of his gaze first. Either way, once they both register, she looks up and meets his eye.

"Morning, big guy. Did you sleep well?" At the beginning, she and the other Vault Hunters had discovered that the most reliable way to get an understandable answer out of the man was to stick with yes and no questions. And that's still largely true, but as the days pass and Krieg spends more and more time in company - which is basically all the time, because he hates being alone - he's become able to express himself more and more clearly. It's like he's remembering how to act like a person, and his growth in this direction is both fascinating and wholly satisfying to witness.

"Mnngh." That's an affirmative. She smiles when she hears it, delighted that he's been able to grab a few hours of restful sleep. 

"Glad to hear it." She leans forward a bit to look out through the doorway into the command center and gage the time by the light outside. It's only just growing dark - the evening has barely begun, but it's late enough for an early dinner. "Ready to grab some food, or no?"

"Mnnph." And that's a negative.

"Okay. Let me know when you are. We can eat together."

At this point in their friendship, she doesn't need to be able to see his face to guess how he's feeling. And a lot of times anymore, she doesn't even really need to guess. She's pretty sure she just made his day with that statement, even though they eat together more often than not these days.

"You bring the meat and I'll bring the fire!"

Maya can tell he's grinning under his mask, and she grins right back. "Perfect."


	19. 8. A Dam Fine Rescue

The first time she hears Krieg quote literature - _"From Hell's heart, I stab at thee!"_ \- it's in the middle of a fight, and Maya doesn't think a whole lot about it afterward. It's just one more topping on the truly epic word salad at this point, and not really worth investigating any further - she thinks.

The second time it happens is also in the middle of a fight, and Krieg is literally on fire. She almost misses the literary connection, because it's not an exact quote and it's also a thing she would just expect him to say: _"Burn me like a roman candle and I'll explode like spiders across the stars!"_ But for some reason it sticks with her, and after a little digging on the ECHONet she remembers the source.

After that, Maya starts paying attention. She rarely hears anything as exact as the Melville line, because everything he quotes he modifies to fit whatever context he's in.

"I live in the gap between the stories!"

"Stop the clock! Bring time to life!"

"Don't bite your thumb at me!"

"Mnyahahaha! The game is afoot!"

Somewhere, locked away in Krieg's broken mind, is a library. She has no idea what to do with this information, or if there's really anything to be done with it. Still, she can't help but wonder what would happen if she offered to read to him sometime. The main obstacle is that it's not exactly easy to get books on Pandora. Tannis has a small library, but much like music, the woman has no use for fiction. Some of the dry, scientific journals she keeps on hand are interesting to Maya, but they aren't exactly light reading, and so useless for the idea that grows more and more insistent as Krieg drops more quotes.

Moxxi and Lilith share a small collection of bodice rippers, which Maya has exactly zero interest in. She has no idea if Krieg would have any interest in them either, but as all of the "ripping" only involves clothing rather than flesh, she somehow suspects they're not the kind of story he would enjoy.

Scooter claims his collection of titty mags are full of really good and interesting articles. Even though she has some private doubts about his reading skills (as in, whether or not he even possesses them), she's willing to just take his word for it and leave well enough alone. 

She catches a break the next time they swing by Ellie's place in the Dust. Propped up between two of the hood ornaments Maya and the others had recovered for the mechanic are a handful of well-used paperbacks. They're lined up neatly with their spines out, displaying exactly the sorts of titles and authors she's wanted to find.

"Hey, Ellie, where'd you get these?"

"Get what? Oh! Moxxi got those for me when I was a kid. I used to have more, but Scooter set fire to a bunch of 'em right before I moved out here. Why? You lookin' for somethin' to read?"

"Always," Maya admits with a hint of a smile. "Guess I'll have to ask Moxxi."

"Aw, hon, you don't gotta do that. D'you wanna borrow 'em? I ain't got a lotta time for reading these days, and I know you'll do right by 'em."

...Will she, though? She wants them for Krieg, after all.

But, it's not like she's planning on leaving the books alone and unsupervised with him. She doesn't even know if he'll be interested in her offer.

"Well, if you don't mind...I'll just take one for now. I don't exactly have a lot of time for reading these days, either, honestly."

"Go for it, cutie. And feel free to swap 'em out if you do finish and I'm not here."

"Thanks, Ellie."

"Anytime, sugar."

With the book in hand, her next challenge is finding a quiet moment to ask Krieg if he's even interested. The moment also needs to have a stretch of free time attached to it, so that if he _is_ interested she can actually follow through.

A chance finally presents itself after they've recovered Roland from the Bloodshot hideout. Everyone is back in Sanctuary to debrief, and as usual Krieg disappears halfway through. Maya waits until Roland is finished talking before following him. At this point, she's positive the big man would sooner slice open his own veins than the veins of anyone within the city's walls, so she no longer worries when he goes out unsupervised. Still, when he's not around her or the others, he tends to seek solitude rather than mingle with the local population. By now he has a few preferred places within the city, so she starts low and works her way up. It takes a bit, but she finally finds him on the rooftop of a building facing the center of town. He's perched on the edge on the opposite side, looking out over the yard in front of Scooter's shop and at Three Horns Divide beyond the walls.

"Hey, Krieg. Want some company?'

He twitches visibly at the sound of her voice and looks around to blink up at her. She's made sure to approach on his left side to make this easier for him to do.

"Shout it down and drown it in the blue quiet!"

It's a little wordier than usual for a yes or no answer, and also as usual she has no idea what he means, but it's a pretty clear affirmative nevertheless. So she seats herself next to him, mirroring his posture and dangling her feet over the edge of the roof.

"Did you bring me a story?" It's a surprisingly direct question from Krieg, and Maya looks up into his masked face, startled. He's not looking at her, for once, but at the book in her lap.

"Uh. Yeah, actually." She angles the book so he can see the cover better. As far as covers go, it's a little dull - solid red, long faded with age and use, against which the title and author's name have been typeset in equally faded gold and black. "It's, uh. Well, I thought it would be fun to read together? You like murder, and I like mysteries, and this has both, so..." She trails off, suddenly second-guessing her grand scheme. It sounds pretty lame when she says it out loud. But then he looks up from her lap to her face, and she knows she's not imagining the excitement in his eye before he answers her.

"I wanna hear a murder story!" It's another astonishingly direct statement from this usually indirect man, and it makes her smile.

"You got it, big guy."

So she opens the book to the first chapter, and begins to read. It's not long before Maya's lost in the story - she's read it once before, but it was so many years ago she's forgotten a lot, and the reread is enjoyable. Although her eyes are focused on the words on the pages, she's very much aware of the man sitting next to her. Normally he's plagued by what look like involuntary muscle tics, and has a tendency to fidget, but sitting this close to him she can tell he's doing neither of those things. He's as engrossed as she is, though honestly she's still not sure whether it's the story itself or just the sound of her voice that's so captured his attention.

Halfway through Chapter 2, he leans in so close he bumps her shoulder with his. She jumps a little, surprised by the contact. He's apparently surprised as well, because he quickly twitches away again. She continues to read as if nothing had happened. When his arm brushes against hers again as she's going into Chapter 3, she's less startled than before, but makes a concentrated effort not to move. Maya has never been fond of physical contact, but as she gets closer to the people here, and her trust in them grows, she's found herself minding less and less. She wonders if it's the same for Krieg; he doesn't seem to mind when Gaige gets all up in his personal space, but Gaige is always the one initiating the contact. He always holds himself apart from the others.

But this time, he doesn't pull away.

She can feel the heat of his skin through her sleeve, and she wonders at it. There's no time to puzzle over it, though - not while she's reading. As Chapter 3 turns in to Chapter 4, she's semi-conscious that she's begun to lean into him. When she gets to chapter 5, she's definitely leaning on him, and the light has faded enough she's straining to see the printed words.

"...gonna have to mark it here. It's too dark to see anymore." Also, her throat is pretty dry from so much talking.

"Mnnnghnn." Somehow Krieg is able to combine understanding and disappointment together into one surprisingly eloquent grunt.

"It's a good story, right? Would you like to hear the rest later?" She's pretty sure the answer is _yes_, but it never hurts to make sure.

"Yeah!" His reply is instant and enthusiastic.

One of the things Maya has come to love about Krieg is his honesty. If he's capable of dissembling, she's never witnessed him attempt it. He's emphatic with both yes and no answers when he has them, and if he doesn't know something, he's not shy about admitting it. She has never in her life met someone as straightforward as he is. There's never any reason to wonder if he has an ulterior motive, or if he's withholding something from her. Being raised by an order of smug, self-serving, patronizing monks has made her very cautious about interacting with new people, but so far she's had positive experiences with all of the others in their group. And her best experiences by far have been with Krieg.

So the ability to take everything he says at face value, even if a lot of it is still scrambled, is everything to her.

"Awesome. I probably won't be able to finish the whole thing in just one more sitting, but we'll see how far we get next time, okay?"

He nods his head, and the enthusiasm in his movement is mirrored in his reply. "Okay!"

It probably shouldn't feel as good as it does every time he reaffirms how much he enjoys her company, but if reveling in that feeling is wrong, she doesn't want to be right. After twenty-seven years of being Maya, the Siren, for the first time in her life, she's just Maya, a _Person_. And for the first time in her life, she's surrounded by people who share her interests instead of tolerating them and discouraging them.

She can't wait for her next chance to read with Krieg.


	20. 8a. The Pretty Good Train Robbery

Never having had friends until she'd arrived on Pandora, Maya has no idea if a handful of weeks is an appropriate amount of time to go all in, ride-or-die for five people she had no idea existed six months ago.

It probably is. After all, it didn't even take Krieg that long.

It feels strange to remember there was a time where she couldn't make heads or tales of Krieg's expressions. The impromptu adventure in the Windshear Waste and the Southern Shelf simultaneously feels like forever ago and just a short time ago. In actuality it's been something like a month or two. He still wears that mask, and she has a hard time seeing his one exposed eye sometimes, but after spending so much time with him, she's become adept at reading his body language. He broadcasts his feelings so clearly, reading them is like reading a book, and it's strange to remember there was a time she couldn't see them.

Krieg is happy a lot. In fact, he's happy most of the time. Maya doesn't think that was always true, but these days, it seems to be his default. His broad shoulders relax, and he fidgets less, and he seems to stand up a little straighter. He's always prone to laughter, whether he's relatively calm and hanging with the others in Sanctuary, or in the middle of a firefight in the wilds of Pandora, and the sound of his laugh changes with his moods.

To say he's _joyful_ when the gunshots begin and the next massacre starts seems to undersell the situation. Krieg really comes to life when he's surrounded by death, and his laughter takes on a manic edge when he's carving living skulls and eviscerating organs with his axe. Sometimes Maya thinks that this should probably bother her, but honestly, his loud mirth reflects how she's feeling, too, when the bandit slaughter begins. The adrenaline high that comes when being shot at is euphoric, and her big friend's constant, unapologetic laughter in the midst of it is the icing on the proverbial meat cake.

Maybe weirdly, maybe not, Krieg is rarely angry. Even when the odds are stacked against them and things are looking grim, he seems to be default cheerful. The only time she's seen him approach anything like true anger is on those occasions Handsome Jack contacts them to crow or gloat. He goes quiet when this happens, and she can practically feel the tension in his broad shoulders, and the tic in his neck returns with a vengeance. He's never angry for long, however, the mood passing more or less as soon as Jack shuts up and cuts the connection.

She's tried to teach him to meditate with her, but after the second time, she stops. He's good at the deep breaths, and talking him through clearing his mind seems to work the way it's supposed to, but things fall apart once she stops instructing. The first time they'd tried, he'd sat quietly for maybe a minute before he'd started mumbling. It had sounded like he was arguing with himself, and when Maya had asked him if he was okay, he'd shaken his head violently and told her "No!"

So she hadn't pushed it any further, and ended the lesson. 

He had been open to trying again, so the next time she starts them out the same way, and everything seems to go fine once she stops instructing...until Krieg hits himself.

"Shut up shut up shut up!"

"Woah, woah, woah! Krieg! What are you doing?"

"_Get out of my head!_"

He doesn't seem to hear her, and hits himself _again_, landing a blow that she's sure by all rights should knock him out. She shakes off her shock and horror as she watches him raise his fist for a third time, and reaches out without thinking, grabbing his wrist in both her hands.The resistance she meets in her attempt to stop his arm is massive, and pretty much exactly what she expects from such a muscular limb.

"_Krieg!_" She's not quite shouting, but she will soon enough if he continues to ignore her. Thankfully, something she's done gets his attention - she's not sure if its her hands on his or if it's the sound of her voice, but either way, he looks at her. When their eyes lock she can see the realization dawn and then horror follow in his eye as he takes her in. The resistance of his arm stops abruptly, and Maya's grip on his wrist is so tight and the effort she was making to hold him back reverses on her, and she almost smacks herself with it.

"No no no no no! If I hurt her it's _your_ fault! If I hurt her _I'll kill you!_ I'll eat the lead salad, I'll open my veins, I'll--"

"_Krieg!_" Now she's shouting. She lets go of his hand and reaches out again without thinking, placing her hands on his face, the tips of her fingers brushing the hot skin at the edges of his mask. Later she'll look back at this and think that was probably a stupid thing to do, considering how wound up he was, but in the moment all she cares about is calming him down. Which, thankfully, her touch actually seems to do.

"Look at _me!_ Talk to _me!_ You didn't hurt me, and you're not _going_ to hurt me, okay?" His eye is locked on hers with an intensity she doesn't think she's seen from him, ever. Which is saying something, because basically everything he does is intense. "Just breathe with me, okay? I'm not going to stop talking this time. Take a deep breath--" She pauses and breathes in deeply, partially to demonstrate, but also because she, too, feels like she could benefit. When he copies her, she gives him a little nod. "Hold it--" She only holds hers for a very brief moment, because she's afraid to stop talking for too long. She has no idea what's going on in his head, and she doesn't want to give it a chance to take his attention back. _Does he hear voices?_ That would explain...a lot, actually. What do they _say_ to him?

"And breathe out. How're you doing, big guy? Still with me?"

Krieg makes a strangled noise deep in his throat but nods his head, his eye never leaving hers.

"Okay, good. We're going to take a few more breaths together, just like this, _reeeeeally_ cool down, and then we're going to go. Uh. Rob that train Tina was talking about. Sound good?"

The noise Krieg makes this time is a lot closer to his usual grunt for _yes_, and he nods again.

"Awesome. Now breathe in with me again, alright?"

As Maya talks him through taking deep, calming breaths, she can feel him relax incrementally under her fingertips. It takes a few more than she's used to for her own heart rate to go back to normal, so she carries on past where she'd typically stop to make sure Krieg gets the full benefit, too.

Once she's sure they're both at pre-self flagellation levels of calm, she sits back on her heels, and takes a page out of Krieg's book by totally dropping the previous subject in favor of the new one.

"Ready to go rob a train?"

"Ready as a rage revolution!"

That gets a genuine smile out of her, and she stands up, relieved. "Sweet. Let's go!"

"You're the boss, boss!"

That's more than likely the end of it for Krieg, but as they make their way out to the Tundra Express for Tiny Tina's pretty good train robbery, Maya resolves to have a much closer look at the medical journals she's seen in Zed's infirmary and Tannis' lab once they return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It might actually be a few more days before the next update; it's been a few years since a game has eaten my life as thoroughly as BL3. See y'all soon, though! ♥


	21. 8b. Out of Body Experience

"Hey, Amigo! Come drink with us!" Ever since they made it to Sanctuary, Salvador has tried to get Krieg to come with them to the bar. So far, Krieg has always declined. 

Axton's misgivings about the giant psycho haven't entirely disappeared, and he still definitely doesn't trust him, but over the months he's gained enough trust in the others - and in Maya, especially - he can tolerate Krieg's presence without being too much of a dick about it. He's not great at keeping things professional, but in their current situation, it really seems to be the best course of action. So far he thinks he's done a credible job. Sometimes Maya will give him a _look_ or Gaige will kick him in the ankle when he slips, but for the most part, he's got the act down.

Hopefully the introduction of alcohol won't change that.

It's always a crapshoot when Salvador gets toasted - is the rowdy gunzerker going to go off, guns literally blazing, and ventilate the roof of Moxxi's place, or is he going to fall asleep on the bar and have to be dragged back to his bunk? Both have happened in the past, and Axton's sure both will happen again, but even when Sal is drunk he trusts the man isn't going to start ventilating _civilians_.

Krieg is enough of an unknown quantity when he's sober, and Axton really doesn't want to find out what happens when he's not. So when the big man nods his head and accepts Sal's invitation, Axton grits his teeth and prepares for the worst.

Salvador, meanwhile, is simply excited that his giant berserker counterpart has finally decided to join them.

"Hey-heeey, Moxxi! Gimme three of the usual, and one for my buddy!"

"You got it, Sugar." Moxxi doesn't miss a beat, and if she's apprehensive about serving alcohol to the psycho, she doesn't show it. Though to be fair, it would be odd if she did. The woman is a consummate professional in all things, and is more than capable of acting as her own bouncer should the need arise. Maybe weirdly, maybe not, said need rarely seems to.

Anyway, she's seen plenty of Krieg on non-drinking occasions. It's not like there are a lot of options in Sanctuary when it comes to food, and all six of them are in and out of her place on a pretty much daily basis.

"And one of the usual for you, handsome?" That question is directed at Axton with a practiced and charming wink that he knows doesn't mean a damn thing but still appreciates. 

"You know it, doll." He joins Salvador and Krieg at the bar, sitting himself on Krieg's left and sandwiching the big man between himself and the gunzerker. It seems like the best position for any potential damage control, and he likes to avoid spending a lot of time on the man's blind side anyway. It just seems safer, since Krieg is so damned twitchy.

"Coming right up!" Moxxi gets to work on the drinks while Salvador chats with Krieg. The big man might be incredibly unstable and unpredictable, as well as difficult to understand, but he and Salvador get along like long-lost brothers. Somehow Salvador seems capable of extracting meaning out of Krieg's word salad. Maybe because he's Pandoran? That seems as likely an explanation as any. 

"...You saw the way his head exploded, right? Brains and eyeballs _everywhere!_"

"Mnughuhuhuhu! It was a fountain of mind meats and skull cheese!"

"Right? And then _you_ carved his buddy a new mouth-hole in the back of his head!"

"Only the finest skin canvas for my hemoglobin masterpiece!"

"Hell yeah! And then Ax's turret made that third guy into a bloody mist!" Salvador leans forward over the bar to look around Krieg and fix Axton with his trademark wide grin. Weak as he is to praise for his turret, the grin Axton returns is genuine.

"The iron spray makes the best hot red breeze! Refreshing as a knife wound!" Krieg is looking at him now, too, and this close it's easy to see his eye. Axton isn't positive, but he's pretty sure the masked man is also grinning. And he's not so much of an asshole he doesn't grin back.

Not for the first time, Axton wonders what's under that mask. He's knows he's not the only curious party, but so far no one has managed to catch even a glimpse of the face beneath. Even Maya says she's never seen Krieg's face, which Axton finds somewhat difficult to believe, especially since the two share a bunk space. When he'd expressed his incredulity at her denial, she'd arched one perfect eyebrow and asked, _"Why does it matter?"_

He bets Krieg is an open book under that mask. Being able to see his expressions would either put Axton at ease or put him even more on the defensive, whichever wound up being necessary. Either way would be preferable to always having to _guess._

...Unless whatever the mask is covering up isn't capable of emoting.

"Here you go, boys." Moxxi sets their drinks in front of them. There's a bendy straw in the glass she's prepared for Krieg. "I'll get your other two in just a moment, sugar." That remark is to Salvador, who's just as good at double-fisting as he is at dual-gunning.

"Cheers." Axton picks his up, gestures a brief toast, and drinks deep. It's less liquid courage, and more something to cover the awkwardness he's feeling.

"Bottoms up!" Salvador exclaims at the same time, and drains his glass with a few deep swallows.

"Mnngh." Krieg grumbles, and stares at the drink in front of him without touching it. Axton tenses, setting his glass back down and just out of the way. The psycho is fidgeting in his seat, eye apparently fixed on the glass before him, and twitching from time to time with that involuntary muscle tic. He's muttering under his breath, long phrases of nonsense Axton can't understand even though he's got a front-row seat and can hear it all.

"_Black it out and smother it in a fuzzy ocean, heavy and dark with the deafening quiet, no voices, no control, just shapes like screaming and the sour colors explode on the human pinata until it aaaall shuts down--_"

"...Amigo?" Salvador's rough voice is a little uncertain, and catches Moxxi's attention. She turns back to the trio and focuses on Krieg, with an expression Axton finds shockingly tender considering who it's directed at. She places a hand on the bar near the glass Krieg is staring so intently at, which he immediately sees. His head twitches as he jerks his gaze from the drink to Moxxi's hand, and then again as he looks up into Moxxi's face.

"What's the matter, big guy? Not a tequila man? Can I get you something else?" 

"Mnghh...!" Krieg's jaw works as he stares at Moxxi. The growl deep in his throat has the hairs on then back of Axton's neck standing on end, and he's as tense as a coiled spring - wound up and ready to jump the moment the psycho hints at any violence. But after a very strained stretch of wordless grumbling, Krieg spits out a statement that is literally the last thing Axton expected:

"I'll have what the bosom clown is having!"

For a split second, Moxxi looks as surprised as Axton feels. The surprise disappears almost instantly, though, replaced by a warm smile. "One seltzer water with a splash of lemon coming right up. Do you want me to take this, or--"

"I'll take it!" That's Salvador, apparently the only party to the present conversation not completely stunned by Krieg's drink preference, or by the clarity of his request. Krieg slides the bestrawed glass over to him even as he reaches out for it.

The seltzer Moxxi places in front of Krieg a few moments later also has a bendy straw, which the big man slips easily under his mask. Axton tries not to stare and winds up observing out of the corner of his eye. He's not quite ready to return to his own drink just yet.

Krieg is more observant than Axton gives him credit for, though, and the man turns his head to meet Axton's apparently not-too-subtle side-eye. He maintains eye contact for the time it takes to empty his glass. When the drink is gone, he slurps loudly through the straw for juuuuust a little longer than Axton considers necessary before setting the glass back on the bar.

"Get your own, Pretty Boy."

Annoyed and a little embarrassed at getting caught and called out, Axton breaks the uncomfortable eye contact with a roll of his eyes, and picks up his drink again.

"Nah, I'm good."

Axton doesn't think he'll ever be able to trust Krieg - the man is too unpredictable. Having been accused of the same himself, he's okay with his own hypocrisy - in the privacy of his own mind, at least. That said, however, he's not upset to learn that apparently there is a _lot_ more going on in Krieg's brain than he'd previously given him credit for, and apparently it's not just dreams of a 24-hour slaughter orgy like he'd been assuming.


	22. 8c. You Are Cordially Invited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for dropping the ball on updating this in a timely manner; BL3 was fun for about 20 hours, right up until I was emotionally curbstomped by some of the laziest writing it's ever been my displeasure to experience. I have never been more disappointed in a piece of media that I spent so many years looking forward to. I'm still reeling, honestly, and I'm salty as hell. I know I'm not the only one, and I'm going to keep writing this out of spite. I hope it helps other fans who feel the same way.
> 
> I'll probably revisit this chapter in the upcoming weeks because it's not really up to my standards, but I wanted to get something up before the gap between updates got any bigger.

"So _kind_ of you to join us this afternoon, my dear Sir Kriegington! _Do_ come in! The tea is just about ready!"

This had not been what he'd expected upon swinging by to check on Tiny Tina, but it's also not...unexpected? She's been on his mind a lot since he and the others helped her set up and hold her previous tea party with Guest-of-Honor Flesh Stick. He hadn't overheard much of that previous party, as he'd been part of the welcoming committee for Flesh Stick's friends, but he _had_ heard the captive psycho scream an apology for selling out Tina and her parents, right before Tina electrocuted him to cinders.

_Sold to Hyperion to die as human guinea pigs._

He can't tell if that thought belongs to him or to the voice, but honestly for once it doesn't matter. It's why she's been on his mind, and it's why he's worried about her. There's no doubt her traumatic experiences have colored the way she sees and interacts with the world. He won't acknowledge it, even to himself, but it's something they have in common. 

And apparently he's just got himself invited to a new tea party. Krieg grunts and follows Tina to her tea table. As far as he can tell it hasn't changed since the last time he was here, except that the Guest-of-Honor chair hooked up to Tina's generator has been replaced by a wobbly-looking stool. Sir Reginald and Princess Fluffybutt are still seated opposite one another, and the chipped, worn-looking tea set is still set out.

"Please, have a seat, my good sir!" Tina indicates the stool in the place where Flesh Stick sat with a grandiose gesture. She then uses the same gesture to swipe the name-card reading "Murderous bastard who killed my parents" off the table and onto the ground. Krieg sits as he's been invited to, and the wobbly stool groans dangerously under his weight. He hopes it doesn't break, mostly because he doesn't want Tina to be down a stool, rather than for any concern about getting hurt if it does. He's so low to the ground already that if it breaks he might not even notice.

Tina disappears briefly into her garage, and when she returns she's carrying a tea kettle in one hand and a new place card in the other. She plunks the folded bit of paper down on the table in front of him. "Sir Kriegington" has been scrawled across its surface.

"Princess Fluffybutt, Sir Reginald, you both remember Sir Kriegington, I'm sure." Tina continues to use her fancy voice as she pours pretend water from the kettle to the empty tea pot. The miniscule varkid buzzes its wings in its jar, and the doll is silent. After a pause, Tina continues as if her opening pleasantry had received a response. "Yes, that's _right_, Princess Fluffybutt, that _was_ Sir Kriegington greeting all of our wonderful guests last week! Excellent memory! Sir Kriegington -" She turns from looking at the doll to look at Krieg. "I was _just_ telling the Princess and Sir Reginald how _grateful_ I am for your help with last week's party. It wouldn't have been _nearly_ as successful without you! Crumpet?" She picks up the crumpet plate and offers it to Krieg. He carefully takes one, since it seems expected of him, and places it on the little plate in his place next to the cup and saucer.

"The meat man will carve faces for the Shortcake for _free!_"

He may be imagining it but for a split second he thinks Tina looks surprised.

"Well! What a kind and gentlemanly offer! I will certainly look forward to taking you up on it soon!"

Tina keeps the tea-time conversation going more or less entirely under her own power. Krieg only seems to be expected to participate occasionally, but he pays close attention and throws out a remark or answers a question when she directs her monologue at him. When she serves the "tea", he dutifully lifts the chipped china cup, delicate handle pinched carefully between his thumb and forefinger, and bumps it very, very gently against his mask. The porcelain _tinks_ softly against the metal in front of his mouth. Tina seems to approve and carries on with her script, and through her mostly one-sided gossip with her doll and the captive baby varkid, he learns quite a bit about her day-to-day life, about some choice marks nearby he and the others will have to investigate later, and about the bandit clans living in the area. 

The tea party lasts a little longer than her previous one, probably about forty minutes from start to finish, and ends in a much less spectacular fashion. No one gets electrocuted to death today. Although there's always next time.

"Okay, das' it, tea party's over!" 

Tina ends the festivities as abruptly as she began them, swapping her fancy voice out for the one she normally uses. Krieg blinks at her in surprise. It's a little ironic and a little funny that for someone who so naturally spins emotional and situational 180s, processing someone else's 180 is a challenge.

"But I wasn't _finished!_" He protests as if there had actually been tea to drink.

"You heard me, Meat Man! _Vaminos!_"

"Mnngh…! Parting is such sweet sorrow, like sour _mind_ candy on my astral _spleen!_"

"Awwwwww, Billy Shakes, you know you're my main meat treat! You can come back later! I gots _stuff_ to do right now!"

"Next time I want a barbecue!"

"_Hell_ yeah, son! You gonna cook, too?"

He responds to her question with a long bout of loud giggling laughter. "Kiss the cook! I hope you like _skag steaks!_"

"You gonna have to put yo' money where yo' mouth is, Shawty! _Next time!_ Get out get out get out!"

Krieg leaves Tiny Tina's cozy little cave home, laughing. Honestly, he likes how direct she is. She's easy to be around, because she knows what she wants and isn't afraid to say it - no guessing involved.

He'll definitely be back, even after the barbeque.


	23. 8d. No Hard Feelings

"...So the Renn-X 13 hookup would be more practical, but the Asimo 2.2 setup would be WAY more awesome!"

Krieg and Gaige are making their way through the Tundra Express to drop off some supplies for Tiny Tina. The mechromancer is talking his ear off as usual, chattering away about her latest planned upgrades to her Deathtrap. Krieg doesn't understand most of the technical jargon, but that doesn't stop him enjoying the interaction. He's always liked being talked to. When he'd first met the others, back on the Southern Shelf, he'd just enjoyed the sound of voices without bothering about parsing meaning. But more and more he pays attention to the words the voices make. Maya had always had his full attention, and then Gaige and Salvador had earned it, then Zer0, then Axton, and then the rest.

Although he doesn't realize it, his interactions with Gaige are mutually beneficial. He gets to listen to someone who's truly invested in sharing with him, and Gaige gets to talk to someone who's genuinely interested in hearing what she has to say.

She hadn't been super good at making friends back home. Her father had always been there for her, of course, and supported her no matter what, but her teenage social life had been a real joke. Somehow, inexplicably, she's made friends with the people here, on Pandora, and they genuinely seem to care about her. She might be the youngest of the team, and yeah, there's definitely a "kid sister" dynamic going on between herself and the other five Vault Hunters, but holy _shit_, what an incredible support system. Never in a million years would she have imagined that having friends could be like this.

...Mostly because up until she'd come to Pandora, she wouldn't have imagined explosions, bandit massacres, and gun collecting as part of the friendship deal. But now that she's here and living it, she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Mnn...Why not Frankenstein a better monster?"

Gaige loves all of her new friends, and the big psycho is no exception. She _adores_ Krieg. He's like a weird, shouty uncle with some serious self-control issues and concerning masochistic tendencies, but he's taken more than one bullet for her since they've met, and - maybe even more importantly - he always gives her his full attention when she talks to him. She's not a hundred percent sure how much he understands when her rambling goes super technical, and he doesn't really ask a lot of questions, or even offer to say much of anything at all, but every once in a while when she pauses for breath he'll speak up. And as the days and weeks pass, he's become easier to understand. She's not really sure if it's because his word salad has become less salad-y, or if it's she's just gotten better at picking the meaning out of the mess.

"Krieg, you're a _genius!_"

Honestly, she _had_ been considering homebrewing her own setup because she can't decide which of the out-of-the-box ones she wants, but that's beside the point. He's just proved once again how closely he listens to her, and that by itself makes her so happy she could puke.

"Pffmnahahaha! _Eat your heart out, Newton!_"

Gaige grins at the sound of his unhinged but cheerful laughter and his dig at Sir Isaac, and pulls out her ECHO device. She's had the two components bookmarked since she'd begun considering them, so it's a matter of moments to purchase both while she continues to walk.

"Aaaaaaand ordered! You're gonna help me with my monster surgery when the parts get here, right?"

"Scalpel -" He hefts his buzzaxe "- retractors, _battery acid!_"

"Aww_right!_ I knew I could count on you, buddy!"

Most of the help Krieg provides when she's tinkering consists of him holding things, and passing her tools when she asks for them, but she still appreciates it. It's nice to have company, even when the company smells like an unholy combination of sweat, burning, and gasoline, and still occasionally attempts to chew on loose wires and spare circuit boards.

"Hey! Tina! You home?" Once they've entered the cave containing Tiny Tina's workshop and closed in to shouting distance, Gaige shouts a greeting.

"_Who wants to know!?_" The shouted reply is instant and slightly cranky-sounding. Tina pops her head out of the workshop bay, and then the rest of her follows when she sees who her guests are. "OMG, it's my favorite vault hunters Stockings and Shawty! What're you two fiiiiine ladies up to today?"

"We're on delivery duty! We come bearing a care package from Roland!" Gaige grins and gestures grandly at Krieg, who hefts the heavy sack of supplies he'd been carrying with one meaty arm.

"Gasp! From Roland?" For a good two seconds, Tina looks and sounds absolutely touched. Then she opens her mouth again, and all traces of tenderness are gone. "It's about damn time! Lemme see, lemme see!" Tina scrambles toward them and Krieg lowers the bag to the ground. The girl dives right in and begins rummaging, calling out her discoveries as she finds them.

"Rations...rations...C-4...more rations...socks...blanket...hair ties...Ooooh, markers!" She pulls her head out of the bag and sits up at this discovery, the cardboard and plastic packages clutched in both hands. She fans the two packs out like a fat hand of playing cards.

"_Double_ markers!" For a second she sounds doubly excited, but then she scowls. "What does he think I am, a little _kid?_ I don't need this many markers. You! Meat Man!" She looks up (and up) at Krieg, who has been observing her with a lot of interest and barely any fidgeting. He blinks when she addresses him, and tilts his head to the side, waiting for her to say whatever it is she's going to say.

"_You_ look like you could do some real damage with a set of rainbow sharpies. These're for you!" She holds one of the packs up over her head. Since she's still sitting on the ground, Krieg has to stoop down to take them. Which he does. "Your homework, whether you accept it or not, is to draw me a _picture!_ I want something _cool_ and _stylish_ and _witty_, okay? You got that?"

"Sausage stumps make the _worst_ art sauce!"

"Close enough!" Tina exclaims, and jumps to her feet again. She's either choosing to deliberately misinterpret Krieg's protest, or she understands it and doesn't care. "Are you guys lookin' for jobs? 'Cos I gots nuthin'!"

"Nah, it was just the supply run." Gaige is still grinning, though the reason behind it has changed. Tina and Krieg are effin' _adorable._ "Ready to go back, big guy? We can swing by that Will dude's place on the way and check out his stash."

"Mnnnghhh, I _love_ the smell of traps in the morning!"

"Hah! I know, right? What a dead idiot. Still, there might be some good loot!"

"Have fun, you two! Don't get ki~illed!" Tina singsongs a farewell, a fairly obvious attempt to hasten their departure.

"Aye aye, captain!" Gaige gives Tina a little farewell salute, and turns to Krieg. "Piggyback me, bro!"

The big man snorts, though it's obvious he's amused. He tucks his new set of markers into one cargo pocket, and turns his back to her.

"All aboard the Psycho Express!" 

She scrambles upward and straddles his narrow waist, clinging to his shoulders until he hooks his elbows under her knees to hold her in place.

"Yeeeeeehaw!"

And the pair of them depart, laughing like lunatics.

The dead bandit's posthumous gift does indeed turn out to be a trap, but Krieg and Gaige don't even break a sweat dealing with it. The loot is barely worth it, but they have a good time, anyway.


	24. 9. A Train to Catch

Maya has a bad feeling about, well. Everything. She's only just met Mordecai, and her first impression wasn't great. Excessive alcohol consumption is a vice she sort of understands - in theory - but not in practice, and in the short time since she's met him, Maya's never heard him sober. She has no idea how someone so constantly and consistently inebriated could provide reliable intel for, well, _anything_, but Roland and Lilith have faith in him. 

She's gotten to know Lilith pretty well by now, and her first, second, and current impression of Roland are all top notch, so it's really more _their_ faith she's putting her own faith in. It's honestly a little uncomfortable, but it's not like there's a lot of choice. Getting to the Vault before Handsome Jack will do a fat lot of good if they don't have the key, and if Roland and Lilith think Mordecai's intel is good, then that will have to be good enough for Maya, too.

Angel's foreboding messages really aren't helping matters, either. Maya's not sure who this Wilhelm guy is except that apparently he's big trouble - big enough Angel has mentioned him several times with the explicit hope that Maya and her crew aren't going to encounter him.

It's the sort of cliched foreshadowing that would have her rolling her eyes if she were reading about it in a book. But this is real life, not a fictional story. Real life doesn't come with convenient foreshadowing, it just throws surprise right hooks and the occasional grenade out of nowhere.

And Wilhelms. Well, one Willhelm. Which is, Maya is positive, _more_ than enough.

...So in this instance, there _was_ real-life foreshadowing, and as far as she's concerned, that's suspicious as hell.

She's inclined to trust Roland's assessment, shouted urgently over the ECHO - _"The vault key's not on the train! Abort the mission, soldier!"_ and a _lot_ less inclined to trust Angel's private follow-up - "_Roland is wrong! You _can_ defeat Wilhelm!"_ why has Angel suddenly changed her tune after all that ominous buildup? 

Meanwhile, Krieg and Salvador take one look at the giant cyborg and rush him like a pair of lunatic berserkers (which they are), loudly dashing whatever brief, futile hope Maya had had that they might actually retreat.

"LEEEEROOOOOY JENKINS!"

That's apparently Krieg's chosen battle cry - 

"_BIENVENIDOS A LA FIESTA, AMIGOS!_"

And there's Salvador's.

Maya takes just enough time to heave a sigh at the two of them before aiming down the sights of her SMG, and pulling the trigger. Gaige and Axton seem totally fine with this turn of events, throwing down Deathtrap and the saber turret in tandem, and letting loose with their own volley of bullets. Zer0 has vanished, as they often do, leaving behind a sword-twirling decoy and undoubtedly locating an advantageous position from which to get in some helpful sniping.

Wilhelm is a freaking bullet sponge. She'd thought _Krieg_ could take the hits, but even he's outclassed by this guy. Despite the combined effort of six guns, one buzzaxe, a turret and a robot, the fight is grueling. Maya quickly stops attempting to phaselock Wilhelm and focuses her power almost exclusively on getting her allies back to their feet, because between Wilhelm's mortars and the seemingly endless supply of EXP-loaders crawling up out of the train wreckage, they're all going down a _lot_ more frequently than she's used to or comfortable with.

And she barely has time to finish that thought before it's her turn. She sees the mortar coming straight for her and only has enough time to dodge a direct hit. The concussive splash as it explodes where she was just standing takes out what was left of her shield and knocks her to the ground. Ears ringing, Maya blinks rapidly. She has to force her eyes to focus, and her heart sinks when she realizes how far away she is from all of the others. Everyone has spread out in an effort to avoid the mortars, and are - rightly - less focused on each other and more focused on the biggest threat in the proverbial room.

"Shit, shit _shit_…" Maya looks around wildly for something nearby to shoot, but even the EXP-loaders all seem to be out of range. Crawling closer to the fighting seems useless, but it's all she can do, so she starts to drag herself forward - 

"I have you."

The mechanically modulated voice speaks out of nowhere, as it often does when the assassin is cloaked, and Maya starts in surprise.

"Zer0!"

"Get back on your feet / I will help you up, and then / We will kill more stuff!"

"Thanks." Her voice is brusque but sincere. A holographic red "<3" flashes out of nowhere, presumably at Zer0's face-height, before she senses their abrupt departure from her side.

She's back on her feet, still feeling strung out but nevertheless revitalized by the second wind.

Going down and then getting back up again isn't exactly a turn in the tide. The struggle to stay alive and take down their opponent is monumental, and by the time the seemingly invincible Wilhelm finally, _finally_ succumbs to their relentless onslaught, she's pretty sure even Salvador is ready for the fight to be concluded.

Krieg is disappointed, of course, but he's the only one in the group she knows will happily fight himself to death if he's given the chance. Maya approaches him on his left, still panting for breath and wishing her heart rate would settle faster. Krieg sees her, and she can see him light up - he stands up a little straighter when their eyes meet, and there's definitely a grin under that mask.

"Nice work, big guy." She reaches out and rests a hand on his arm, which always seems to help him come down from the adrenaline high. And if he notices she's also using his arm to steady herself, she knows he won't say anything. "Everybody okay? Still in one piece?" She raises her voice to address the others.

"Barely." That's Axton, as the closest to the two of them. Gaige and Salvador chime in next. The teen is cranky, walking with a limp, and leaning on the Gunzerker for support. Salvador, in contrast, is full of good cheer as he helps her along and appears no worse for the wear.

"Let's never do that again!" Gaige says.

"I wanna go round two!!" Salvador is quick to contradict her. Gaige punches him ineffectually in his shoulder, and he laughs.

"Maybe later." _Or never,_ she thinks privately. She's in total agreement with Gaige on that one. "Where's Zer0?"

"Here." The assassin speaks up just as her searching eyes fall on them. They're standing over Wilhelm's remains, examining an object that looks like --

"Is that a power core?"

Before Zer0 can reply, Angel chimes in over the ECHO network. "_It appears to be Wilhelm's power core; my sensors tell me it is one-of-a-kind. If you bring it to Roland, Sanctuary's shields may never need to be recharged again._"

Before anyone can respond to that, Roland speaks up. "_Woah, never seen a power core like that. The one you got from Reiss has nearly burnt out -- why don't you bring it back here? We may not have found the Vault Key, but at least Sanctuary will be safe a little longer thanks to you._"

Maya has a bad feeling about this, too.

After catching their collective breath and patching the worst of their wounds, the six make their way back to Sanctuary, and then out to the shield generator on the edge of town. Davis is excited to see the new core even as he expresses his reluctance to use Hyperion tech. He's not reluctant enough to look a gift core in the mouth, however, and so with very little ceremony, they replace the old with the new...And Maya's bad feeling is instantly, horribly validated with a ghastly screeching noise and a cloud of sparks.

"Hey, you know, I think it's finally time to tell you that little secret." The last thing anybody wants to hear is the voice of Handsome Jack, and that is now, unfortunately, exactly what they are hearing. He sounds more cheerful than he has in a long time, and it sets Maya's teeth on edge.

He pauses with maddeningly impeccable dramatic timing, and lowers his voice conspiratorially to finally let them in on his secret: "_Angel's working for me._"

"Lowering Sanctuary's shield, Jack."

And that's when everything goes to shit.


	25. 10. Rising Action

Watching Lilith do her badass Firehawk thing makes Krieg deeply uncomfortable, and he doesn't know why. He can feel forgotten memories trying to resurface when she goes nova and her brilliant, fiery wings unfurl. This is exactly the kind of thing he should be getting a kick out of, drinking in the sight of her awesome power and taking satisfaction from witnessing this incredible thing that she can do. Instead, he recoils, holding himself as far from the fire as possible, as if physical distance will help him push down the memories that claw upward into his consciousness at the sight of her.

And then when Axton hands her the eridium she'd demanded, he looks away completely, turning his head sharply to the left so that the blind side of his mask totally blocks his view. He knows what will come next; the warm orange of Lilith's fire will turn slag-purple as she absorbs the eridium and eats the power, and he thinks if he watches that happen again he might vomit.

Maya is standing next to him - _right_ next to him. He hadn't realized it until he sees her. Her eyes are fixed on Lilith, and she has a hand pressed to the small of his back. He wonders what's going through her mind as she watches the other siren. As far as he's seen, eridium doesn't seem to have any effect on her, nor she on it. He wonders if it will always be that way. He hopes it is. He hates the stuff more than anything else, hates its sickly purple glow, its smell, its _sting_ as it floods through his veins, poisoning his blood, poisoning his _mind_ \--

\-- He'll stay right by her side for as long as she'll have him there, even if the cool blue of her aura turns poison purple, but he really, _really_ hopes it never does.

Turning away from Lilith to stare at Maya doesn't stop him from seeing the purple light, not completely. As the static of her power crackles through the air, a chaotic counterpoint to the rhythmic, concussive blasts of Helios' mortars, he watches the warm orange light bathing Maya's face turn cold purple. In the moments before the purple turns blinding white, he reaches up and grips her shoulder. The last thing he sees is Maya's blue eyes, surprised and worried, turned up to meet his as Lilith's power washes over them both and phases them Somewhere Else.

...Somewhere Else is just Three Horns, several hundred meters outside the city limits. It's a little more dramatic than the last time Lilith had phased them from one place to another, but it's still pretty anticlimactic. Krieg blinks rapidly until his vision clears. Maya is still right next to him, her hand on his back. He curls his fingers carefully over the curve of her shoulder. The feeling of her warm skin under his calloused palm is grounding. They watch together in silence as Sanctuary rises slowly and steadily into the air, gripped by pulsating purple waves of unfathomable siren power. The whole city and its ripped-up foundation reaches the zenith of its climb and floats serenely in place for a long moment, despite the relentless crash of mortars.

And then it vanishes.

They're both quiet for some time, staring at the space in the sky where Sanctuary was. Then Maya sighs heavily and leans into him, wrapping her arm around his waist.

"Well, shit."

Krieg may have just witnessed an entire city vanish into thin air, but his broken-ass brain bends reality on him all the time, so it isn't like the insane thing he just witnessed is particularly extraordinary.

Now, the warm and unyielding reality of Maya, _leaning on him_ with an arm around his waist is not something his wildly unreliable brain has ever conjured as a possibility before, so as far as he's concerned, _this_ is the noteworthy event of the day.

_For the love of everything, don't open your mouth and ruin this moment._

"Mnngh." His grumbled agreement is directed at Maya, and at Maya only. He's just going to pretend he didn't hear the voice.

"...Ugh." It's an unfairly short time before Maya speaks again, pulling out her ECHO device and activating the communicator with a flick of her thumb. At least she hasn't pulled away, yet. "Gimme a head count, people. Who landed where? I'm with Krieg just outside the gate to Three Horns Divide."

"Lucky!" Gaige's voice comes back at them first. "Lilith dumped me an' Axton in the Frostsprings. He puked up _aaaaaall_ of his lunch."

"That was my _breakfast_," the commando corrects her indignantly. "I never _got_ to eat lunch!"

"Oof. Bad luck, Ax." Maya is clearly sympathetic, but she doesn't dwell. He's alive; he'll get over it. "Zer0? Sal?"

"We're here in Boot Hill." Zer0 replies after a short delay. "The gunzerker tripped and fell / in a shallow grave."

"Maybe shallow for a noodle ninja!" it sounds like Salvador is having as bad a time as Axton. But at least he's kept the contents of his stomach in his stomach. Probably. If not, Krieg's sure they will quickly be treated to a haiku about vomit.

"Okay, wow. We're kind of spread out, huh? Ugh, we need to regroup...I guess the Valley is the most central--"

Before Maya can finish her thought, she's interrupted by - of all people - Angel.

"_I know you're angry at me right now, but we don't have a lot of time. I'll explain everything -- just get to The Fridge -- it's the only way to reach the Highlands. I detect Lilith might have phased your city there._"

There's a very brief moment of silence before Maya, Salvador, Axton, and Gaige all begin shouting at once.

"Why the _hell_ should we trust you?"

"You've got a lot of nerve talking to us after that bullshit you just pulled!"

"What do you think we are, stupid?"

"Fat chance, sweetheart!"

In her agitation, Maya pulls away from him to focus on the four-way verbal beatdown she and the others are giving Angel. He notes absently that like him, Zer0 doesn't seem to be participating, and wonders why.

_Probably because there's already enough angry voices going off._

Mm. Probably.

To say Krieg has some mixed feelings about Angel, and about what Angel has done, is underselling the issue. He had begun to take a lot of comfort from her voice, always gentle, always warm, always kind, friendly and wholesome, forever ready with a word of encouragement or advice. Her betrayal _hurts_ in all the wrong ways. There's no catharsis in this pain, no clear physical cause and effect. It can't be undone with a healing hypo, or with a cool blue aura. It will persist for weeks or months or maybe years - _years_, which is a measure of time he has no frame of reference for, having forgotten however many of them he'd experienced to reach this point in his life. Even choking down the memory is an unreliable coping method, because he knows from experience that it will persist despite his wishes.

Just like all of the worst ones seem to.

Maya's absence has left his side feeling cold. He's not particularly interested in yelling at Angel, or in hearing her be yelled at, so he meanders away from his friend, back toward the gaping crater in the earth where Sanctuary was. When he reaches the edge, he stares down - and down, and down. There must be a bottom down there somewhere, but it sure isn't visible from up here. Would jumping from up here kill him?

_How about let's not try it, huh?_

"Shut _up_, little man."

He sits down stubbornly at the very edge of the precipice, annoyed at how talkative the voice has suddenly become. He can still hear Maya behind him, and the voices of the others coming through her ECHO, but he's far enough away now he can't hear what they're saying, which - for once - is totally fine. He's not sure Angel deserves to be yelled at. Something about the defeat in her voice following Jack's order to lower Sanctuary's shield had smacked him with an uncomfortable feeling of deja vu.

He remembers a woman: long, blonde hair pulled back in a messy knot, thick black glasses, a white lab coat, and dark, exhausted circles under haunted eyes.

The doctor's hands were always cold but never impersonal. Her distaste for her work was evident daily, and her frequent apologies desperately sincere. He wasn't given a choice, but neither was she.

Recoiling from the memory before it can drag others up with it, Krieg scrapes up a handful of earth and gravel in his right hand and flings it out into the gaping chasm of the Sanctuary Hole, letting the motion of the falling debris distract him from his thoughts.

"Push it back, choke it down, _drown it_ in the slag, don't _ever_ let it out!"

People don't typically work for Handsome Jack because they _want_ to.

And AIs like the Guardian Angel have even less freedom than most people.

"Krieg!"

He twitches heavily, startled by the sound of Maya calling his name. He looks over his shoulder at her - she's put her ECHO away, and walked closer to where he's sitting. "Are you ready to go, big guy?"

As an answer, he simply scrambles to his feet and rejoins her. He is absolutely ready to go, and grateful she's pulled him from his uncomfortable thoughts and back into the present. He so prefers to deal with the present.

"We managed to get ahold of Lilith," Maya tells him once he's beside her, and they're both walking away from Sanctuary's crater toward the Divide. "She did phase Sanctuary over the Highlands, so we're heading to The Fridge."

He doesn't have to wonder why she sounds unhappy about that.

The pair catch a ride once they get out into Three Horns Divide proper. Maya lets him drive, which is almost a mistake, because soon after they get up to speed, Handsome Jack contacts them to gloat. Krieg's aggravation at the sound of Jack's voice has him screaming and seeing red, and he nearly crashes into a bullymong nest. He swerves around it at the last second when Maya shouts at him, and takes out his frustration by running over a couple of monglets as he accelerates back onto the road.

"_YOUR LIVER IS A HOOD ORNAMENT!_"

"Bye, now!" Maya chimes in, and between the roadkill and her cheerful addition to his aggression, he feels a little better.

They make good time to Three Horns Valley, where they've arranged to meet up with the others. There's a small bandit encampment just outside the entrance to the Fridge, which Gaige and Axton have already cleared out.

"You used up all the fun!" Krieg is more than a little put out as he and Maya approach and see the collection of dead bandit bodies littering the camp.

"Sorry, big guy! They didn't give us a lot of choice." Gaige apologizes from her seat next to Axton at the fire pit.

"Yeah, sorry," Axton's apology is a little less sincere, and also made around a mouthful of charred mystery meat. It looks like the commando is finally getting his lunch.

"There's a ton of food, though!" Gaige chirps, holding up a skewered chunk of half-cooked meat. As far as consolation prizes go, that's actually a pretty decent one.

"Somehow I get the feeling there'll be plenty of stuff to kill in the Fridge," Maya says consolingly. "And I could definitely do with something to eat."

So they join Gaige and Axton at the fire pit, and make good use of the appropriated bandit rations while they wait for Zer0 and Salvador to catch up.

Their remaining team members show up about an hour later. Salvador is as disappointed as Krieg that he'd missed out on a choice bandit raid. He's also just as easily placated with offers of food, and assurances that there are definitely more assholes to kill in the Fridge.

Once Salvador is fed and watered, and the six have thoroughly stripped the camp of its remaining resources, they're finally ready to proceed.

As they approach the heavily fortified and iced-over door to their destination, Angel speaks up once more, and the defeat in her voice breaks Krieg's heart.

"...We're not friends anymore, are we?"


	26. 11. Bright Lights, Flying City

Flynt's bandit camp on the Southern Shelf had been bad. Southpaw Steam & Power had been worse. The Fridge makes both of those places look like warm and inviting vacation destinations, and Maya finds herself remembering them fondly as she and the others fight their way through the freezing caverns.

The creatures that inhabit the Fridge were men once. Probably. Slag has warped their bodies and their minds into grotesque caricatures of humanity, and time and cannibalism have erased whatever remnants may have been left. The frigid temperature of the environment is the only reason the whole place isn't suffocating with the stink of refuse, carrion, and feces. That isn't to say that the odor permeating the air isn't overwhelming, because in places it absolutely is. But it's tolerable instead of unbearable, at least as long as they keep moving.

Maybe she's imagining it, but Maya is pretty sure Krieg is throwing himself even more fully into the bloody massacre they're cutting through the Fridge than he normally does. Which is saying something. He usually gives at least 110% in any fight he gets into. She's not sure where he's amped it up to from there, but it's definitely at a higher percentage than normal.

"Hey, Maya? Does Krieg seem...uh, _angrier_? Than usual to you?" She's more relieved than surprised at Gaige's whispered question. It means she hasn't been imagining it.

"Yeah, he definitely does."

"Okay, good, I'm not just imagining it." Gaige admits this with a huge sigh of relief, which had Maya smiling.

"I'm glad you noticed, too."

"What do you think is wrong? Is it the...Angel...thing? How was he acting when it was just you two? Was he upset then?"

"I mean...yeah, what else can it be? But he was pretty quiet after Sanctuary disappeared. And he didn't seem interested in listening to the rest of us yell at Angel when she contacted us, so he went to throw rocks in the pit where Sanctuary was."

"Just, like, normal rock throwing? Not super-angry-I'm-gonna-strangle-somebody throwing?"

"Mmm...well, he was talking to himself, but that's pretty normal for him. He didn't seem any more upset than usual? It felt like he was being weirdly patient until I was ready to go, honestly."

"Huh."

"Hey you two, tellin' secrets? Let me in!" Axton has noticed their little huddle and inserts himself into the proceedings. He drapes an arm around Gaige's shoulders.

"We're just trying to figure out if your turret needs a tune-up or just straight up replaced," Gaige is quick to quip.

"Wow, rude?" Axton is mock offended. "Here I am, putting in all this effort to keep everybody safe -"

He's cut off by a shout from Krieg. "_I'm gonna rip out your lungs and FEED them to you!_"

"Better get back to it, Soldier Man, or the big guy's gonna beat your kill count."

"Nah, if he goes over, I'll just catch up later. Seriously, what's going on? You two have your _super serial_ faces on."

Maya shrugs. Axton's never really warmed up to Krieg, but that's no reason to keep their concerns from him.

"We're just trying to figure out what's up with Krieg. He's angrier than usual."

"Is he?" Axton squints over at Krieg - the six vault hunters have just finished clearing out the rat nest on the lower level of the Fridge, and Salvador, Zer0, and Krieg are going to town on a group of crystalisks near the lift that will take them down and to the Fridge exit.

"_How can I snap your neck if you don't have one!?_" That's Krieg again, interrogating the crystalisk he's busy blasting to crystal powder, one point-blank shotgun round at a time.

"...How can you tell?"

"Uhhhh…" Maya and Gaige exchange a glance, and shrug at the same time.

"Guess I'll take your word for it." Axton shrugs too. "It's not like there's a shortage of things to take his aggression out on, at least, right?"

"You've got that right." Maya can't argue there.

"How much d'you guys wanna bet this is just like, an appetizer?" Gaige asks with a grin.

"Ugh, Gaige, _word_ choice."

"She's right." Now Axton is grinning. "We're breaking new ground. Just look at what we've found already!" He gestures grandly to the steadily growing herd of aggressive crystalisks that have begun emerging from the icy ground in response to the commotion of the group's two loudest members.

"Yeaaaaah, we should probably. Get down there."

***

Krieg seems to have gotten over the worst of his anger when they finally exit the Fridge and make their way into the Highlands Outwash. 

"Heeeey, looks like Zer0's already been here!"

Salvador points out a beat-up cardboard sign that reads, "INVISIBL ASSHOLES!", which immediately flips the big guy's mood the rest of the way and causes him to loudly laugh his happy, non-murdery laugh.

"Hah. Very funny," Zer0 deadpans. But the red ";)" emote they flash in front of their faceplate tempers the flat tone of their remark.

Salvador grins and raises a hand for a high five, which Krieg delivers.

The moment of levity doesn't last long, however. They can see Sanctuary in the distance, floating serenely in the sky, but the nearby fast travel doesn't recognize it as a valid destination. With that discovery made, it's only a matter of moments before Angel contacts them again.

"_Oh, no -- the phase blast must have taken Sanctuary off the fast-travel network. Uh...okay. Head to the Eridium Extraction Plant nearby. I think I know how to get you back to your friends._"

"Okay, how about giving us a _little_ more info before we just run off blindly to do that?" Axton is the first to say what Maya is thinking, and when he glances at her, she nods appreciatively.

Maya keeps a close eye on Krieg while the brief discussion takes place. At first glance, he seems just as disinterested as before, but the set of his shoulders lets her know that he _is_ listening.

No one yells at Angel this time. They're all still uneasy about trusting her, but if she can help them reconnect the fast travel network to Sanctuary, then they'll tolerate her continued presence and accept her assistance. That will change if she asks them to plug another suspect piece of Hyperion tech into Sanctuary's systems, however.

The walk to the Hyperion plant is an eventful one. Almost as soon as they start making their way down the slope, they encounter the actual invisible assholes the cardboard sign warned for. Just like skags and rakks, it feels like there's a never-ending supply of stalkers, and the aggressive creatures turn what should be a fairly quick schlep into a drawn-out slog. Krieg is definitely back to his normal levels of aggression at this point - he's having fun with this slaughter instead of taking out anger on it. Whatever had upset him and set off his unusual anger in the Fridge seems to be either worked out or forgotten, which Maya is glad to see.

Things start to look up a bit as they get closer to a Hyperion outpost and their proximity alerts the facility's loader bots - the robots are just as likely to attack the stalkers as they are Maya and her crew, so at least that's mildly entertaining.

The eridium extraction plant proper, once they finally arrive, is crawling with Hyperion personnel and loaders of every variety. They've barely taken a break since killing Wilhelm, and Maya, at least, is beginning to feel every hour that's passed since then deep in her bones. Once they get back to Sanctuary, she's going straight to her cot in Gaige's garage and not moving until she's slept herself out.

When they finally clear out the plant and approach the lunar supply beacon Angel told them to retrieve, an enormous thresher emerges from the ground and swallows the thing whole. Because of course it does. Maya allows herself a self-indulgent moment to stare into the proverbial abyss, questioning her life and the choices that have brought her to this moment. This whole endeavor is turning out to be a huge, unwieldy comedy of errors.

But she only takes a moment, because seconds after the thresher disappears below the earth, an unnecessary and concerning amount of flailing tentacles begin erupting from the ground. "This is really stupid, right? It's not just me?" She's shouting to anyone close enough to hear as she dodges and weaves to avoid touching the flailing thresher limbs.

"It's _super_ stupid!" Gaige shouts back.

"I dunno what you're talking about! This! Is! Awesome!" Salvador is, of course, having the time of his life, and is not shy about saying so.

"Mnahahaha! I see meat muscles!" Krieg is also having a very good time.

Maya rolls her eyes at the pair of them, but she smiles, too. She is honestly glad some of them are having fun.

The thresher is not easy to take down, but the six of them manage it in the end. Once it's expired, Krieg rips into the thing's massive corpse without hesitation to retrieve the swallowed beacon. After a few messy moments of digging around, he emerges, triumphant, dripping in thresher guts and beacon in hand.

"I looked into the heart of darkness, _and I ate it all!!_"

"Krieg, you're so _gross_," Gaige complains.

"Pfffmnahahahahaha!" The big man is unfazed by Gaige's disgust. In fact, he leans into it, spreading his long arms as if inviting her to give him a hug. "No piggyback for Pigtails?"

"Not until you shower, mister."

While Gaige bullshits with Krieg, Zer0 plucks the liberated beacon out of Krieg's hand, shakes off the worst of the thresher goo, and inspects it.

"Looks like no harm done. The device is undamaged, even though it smells. "

"Well, that's something, at least." Something, as well as a relief. It would have been Maya's turn to take out some frustration on any nearby wildlife if the thing had been damaged after all that.

"You know, I almost hate to be the one to ask this, but _are we there, yet?_" Axton sounds about as exhausted as Maya feels.

"_Almost,_" Angel speaks up again over the ECHO. "_Head to the town of Overlook. Thanks to Hyperion's mining operations, the people of Overlook suffer from the skull-shivers. They won't disturb us._"

"'_Us,_'" Axton parrots in a disparaging mutter. Maya concurs.

They take about an hour to catch their collective breath a reasonable distance away from the thresher remains, before continuing onward.

It just so happens Maya is walking right next to Krieg when Handsome Jack contacts them again. As soon as the man starts talking, she can _feel_ the change in Krieg's mood, like a sudden barometric shift in pressure, and it raises the hairs on the back of her neck. And then it hits her - it was _Jack_ that had triggered the big man's unusual anger in the Fridge. It's so obvious now she's annoyed at herself for not picking up on it before.

"_Krieg_," She keeps her voice low and even, pitched for his ears only. His head whips around at the sound of his name, and he stares at her intensely, all but vibrating with the force of what she recognizes as _restraint._ "Stay with me, big guy. He'll shut up soon, and we'll mess him up soon, too."

He grunts noncommittally, and she can't tell if he's acknowledging what she just said, or that he's just acknowledging that she said something. It's Krieg, though. Maybe it doesn't matter. She keeps talking, because he obviously prefers to listen to her over Jack, and the less angry he is, the better it is for everyone.

After regaling the vault hunters with a story about how he scooped out some poor guy's eyeballs with a spoon, Handsome Jack finally shuts up with a pissy parting shot, and leaves them - for the moment - in peace. Krieg is still tense, but Maya thinks his mood is more even than it might be if she hadn't said anything, so she considers that a win.

It's a long walk to Overlook from the end of the Outwash, but a fairly short drive. When they find a catch-a-ride, Axton is quick to claim the driver's seat, and no one complains too much. Out of all of them, the commando is the best driver - or at least, the least obnoxious driver. Which, honestly, isn't saying much, but as they're all exhausted at this point, and Axton is the most likely to purposefully avoid potholes and driving down cliff faces, it's good enough.

Overlook appears to be a ghost town, just as Angel promised. The illusion of solitude is quickly shattered, however - as soon as Gaige sets up the beacon and it begins broadcasting, the ground begins to shake with the impact of countless loader bots delivered via moonshot

"Should've guessed," Maya mutters, pulling out her corrosive SMG.

Defending the beacon is possibly the biggest challenge since Wilhelm, because at least when they'd fought Wilhelm, they'd been rested up beforehand. She's lost track of the hours it's been since Lilith phased them out of Sanctuary, and honestly, at this point, she's kind of afraid to confirm that number. Maya knows Gaige, Axton, and Salvador are as exhausted as she is, and she's endlessly grateful for the additional backup provided by the commando's turret and the mechromancer's 'bot.

At this point in their friendship, she's about 95% sure Zer0 doesn't sleep, or even get tired, so they're likely feeling as fine as ever. Their sniping work is as precise and as helpful as always, even in the chaos caused by what feels like hundreds of loaders, which only convinces her further of the assassin's tireless nature.

And then there's Krieg. Krieg is an endless font of violent energy, and not for the first time Maya is very, _very_ glad he's around. If he's feeling the endless hours of running and fighting since they took down Wilhelm, he sure isn't showing it. He takes out the Hyperion bots with the same manic enthusiasm as always, alternating between his shotgun and his buzzaxe as the mood strikes him, laughing loudly and trash talking with each successful kill.

All told, it only takes maybe five or ten minutes for Angel to deliver the fast travel, but those handful of minutes feel like a lifetime of endless robots. By the time the fast travel touches down and Angel is all but yelling at them to _go_, only Krieg needs to be told twice. It's probably a blessing in disguise that all the opposition Jack sent to take them out is mechanical. Robots are Krieg's least favorite thing to fight, so convincing him to leave when there are still enemies to kill isn't as difficult as it might have been otherwise.

Despite her earlier betrayal, Angel does come through for them on this. The fast travel works as it's supposed to, and all six of them emerge in the quiet, dusty interior of Pierce Station. It's not enough to merit forgiveness, but Maya, at least, is willing to give her the benefit of the doubt now. Or at least, she's pretty sure she will be, once she's rested enough to be able to think clearly again.

There are two things they have to do now that they're finally back in Sanctuary before Maya can sleep: debrief with Roland, and hose Krieg down behind Gaige's garage. She may be exhausted, but she has no interest in filling their sleeping space with the stink of dried thresher viscera.

Thankfully, Roland takes one look at them all and tells them to get some sleep. They're all back, they're all alive, and there's nothing to address now that can't wait eight or ten or fifteen hours.

So that just leaves Krieg's "shower."

"The Geek Girl still owes me flower soap!" Krieg complains as he's rinsed off, pants, rags, and all. He tolerates the cold deluge of water without grumbling, otherwise. They've done this often enough by now that it's basically routine. He'll take a real shower sans clothes and with actual soap later, even if it's not the girly soap Gaige promised. After some initial resistance, he's actually become surprisingly attentive to basic hygiene, and usually pursues it without prompting after whatever slaughter of the day is finished. Maya suspects it's because the act of showering helps him feel less like a monster and more like a human being.

Also, he can get pretty pungent after a long day massacring, even on days he doesn't go torso-diving in a freshly killed thresher. She's pretty sure his mask doesn't block odor. And it _definitely_ doesn't block odor when he takes it off to sleep.

"We'll remind her about it later." Maya is surprised he remembered. But since he has, she'll make a point of following through with Gaige - as she just told him - _later._ "Right now I just wanna sleep for the next ten years."

"Mngh. Can I wake you up for breakfast?"

His question is oddly sweet, and it surprises her a little. She smiles, and hands him a towel.

"...Absolutely."


	27. 11a. The Cold Shoulder

There are a lot of things that need to be done, now that they're all back in Sanctuary and figuring out what to do next. And apparently nearly all of the things that need to be done can only be done by the vault hunters. Which, well, whatever. A job's a job, right? And just like pretty much everyone else in Sanctuary, Scooter has a handful of things he needs done.

_"Hey, you met my girl Laney? She perfect, man: blonde, great body, distantly related to me, great body -- but them Fridge rats brainwashed her! You gotta snap her outta that cannibalism crap! I don't wanna get bit! Bring Laney her favorite flowers and food, and I'm sure she'll come around and stop bitin'."_

Is this how romance works? Flowers and food sound reasonable. Flowers are nice to look at, and everyone needs food. So far, Scooter's plan makes sense, even to Krieg.

_"Oh, and if you find any porno mags -- I'm just sayin' if you come across them in a natural-like sense -- just snag those for me too, okay?"_

He's not sure where the porn fits into this equation, though.

"You takin' notes, Amigo?" Salvador asks with a mischievous grin and a friendly jab of his elbow to Krieg's side.

"I dunno if he should, Sal. Maybe we should see if this even works, first." Gaige, speaking up on Krieg's other side, sounds highly doubtful.

"Of course it'll work! Who doesn't love flowers and pizza?"

"Uhhh, probably this chick? Why else would she come out _here_ to live? It's full of rats and smells like the place where dook huts come to die!"

The three vault hunters have returned to the Fridge at the request of Scooter, and if their friendly teasing is anything to go by, Gaige and Salvador are more interested in playing wingman to Krieg than in doing the job they're being paid for.

"Mnghh...But why's he want mags for the spank bank?" That's the part Krieg still doesn't get.

"A little insurance never hurts anything!" Salvador responds, which doesn't answer Krieg's question at all.

"Because he probably knows this isn't going to work." It's weird for the usually optimistic Gaige to be so fatalistic, but then again, everyone has a weird mood sometimes. Now must just be her time. Anyway, _that_ answers Krieg's question a lot better.

"Pfff! Sucks for him! My _axe_ is _thirsty!_"

There are more important things to focus on, now. Namely, he's ready to get his slaughter on.

"_Hell_ yeah! Super robot violence fun-time!"

"Killing spree, baby!!"

Even though all six vault hunters had blasted through the Fridge just one, possibly two days back, their initial extermination effort appears to have barely scratched the surface of the rat population. It takes a lot of blood and sweat (about 90% of which belongs to the rats) to locate and gather the titty mags. When they reach the icy depression where the blade flowers grow, their tactics don't change much even though the rats have thinned and their new antagonists are a huge pack of crystalisks and a flock of rakk.

"Hey, these _are_ actually really pretty," Gaige admits as she holds up a stem to admire.

"_Yeah, Laney loves bladeflowers, man,_" Scooter chimes in over the ECHO.

They gather a bouquet-sized amount, and move on to acquiring the pizza.

"...Why didn't we just bring a fresh one from Moxxi's?" Gaige asks as she holds up a triangle of frozen bread, sauce, and cheese.

"_I bet Laney'll stop cravin' human flesh soon as she smells them _~slices~_! Why would anyone ever be a cannibal so long as pizza exists?_"

"Uhhhhh…" Gaige bangs the frozen solid chunk of pizza against a nearby rock. The resulting noise is indistinguishable from two rocks smacking together. 

"We definitely should've stopped at Moxxi's," Salvador agrees.

Nevertheless, they collect the rest of the former pizza and bring it along with the blade flowers to Laney's doorstep.

"_Flowerssss? Pizza? It is sssso kind of you to bring me such giftssss... perhaps I was wrong to join the ratssss._"

For one hopeful moment, it looks as if Scooter's plan is actually going to work.

"_That's my girl! I knew you'd come back to me sooner or later!_"

And then, just as Gaige is preparing to eat her earlier words, Scooter speaks up over the ECHO and ruins everything.

"_Wasss that SSSCOOTER?! Why do you think I fled here?! It was the only place Sssssscooter would not follow me with his sssstupid advancessss!_"

"I _told_ you it wasn't gonna work!" Gaige shouts, just as Laney emerges and attacks.

Of course the three vault hunters take Laney out, as well as the seven tiny rats that had also emerged to join the fight. They've already had a great warmup killing the various obstacles between them and the items Scooter had instructed them to collect, so killing these last few stragglers doesn't take very long.

When the last of the rats falls over dead in the steadily congealing communal blood pool, Scooter speaks up one more time.

"_I'ma go ahead and blame all that rage on the bein'-turned-into-a-rat thing, uh, and less on the Scooter-was-a-bad-boyfriend thing. Uh, easier for everybody that way, see? Uh, still, we tried. Come on back._"

"Ugh..._gross._" Gaige mutters. Something about the way she says it makes Krieg think she's not talking about the bloody corpses.

"It's loot time!" Salvador sing-songs, charging headlong into the rat nest. Gaige and Krieg follow right on his heels. Inside the nest are seven miniature beds and one regular-sized bed, and at the foot of the regular-sized bed is a chest. Salvador kicks it open, and when the mechanism whirrs and reveals the prize, all three vault hunters pause for a heartbeat to stare at the warm orange glow within.

Just one heartbeat, though, because both of the boys are loot-greedy assholes.

"I like it, I want it!" Salvador shouts at the same time as Krieg - 

"Mine, mine, _mine!_"

Krieg beats Sal to the punch and snags the legendary SMG, cradling it in his large hands almost like a baby, and all but daring Salvador to try to take it. Naturally, Salvador moves immediately to take him up on his dare.

"Woah woah woah, time out!" Gaige inserts her skinny frame between her two best muscleheads. It's something she would definitely have hesitated doing months ago after first meeting them - for obvious reasons. But at this point she trusts both of them equally with her life, and only partially because they've both _saved_ her life at least a dozen times over now, each. 

"Guys, I have an _idea._"

Krieg grunts to indicate he's listening, though his eye is fixed on Salvador. Sal makes a face at him, but crosses his arms and turns his attention to Gaige.

"Fine. What is it?"

"Okay. Okay okay okay. This is gonna be _way_ better than _that_ stupid fiasco -" she points back toward Laney's front porch and the rapidly cooling corpses contained therein. " - mostly because none of us is Scooter. So, what we're going to do _is:_" she turns her back to Krieg to address Salvador. "You and me are going to let Krieg have that SMG. And _you_ \- " she spins in place to face Krieg. "- Are gonna give that SMG to Maya."

"What!? What good's that gonna do _me?_" Salvador is clearly not down with this plan.

"Mngghh..." Krieg, on the other hand, is equal parts intrigued and conflicted. He likes the idea of giving Maya a super good present, but at the same time, this SMG is _godly_, and he wants to keep it.

"Oh my god..." Gaige mutters, looking up to the ceiling as if for patience or perhaps divine intervention. When the latter fails to appear, she soldiers on, resolved to make do with the former, and turns back to Salvador. "Okay, look, if you let Krieg have that gun, I'll give you Gwen."

The Gwen's Head is Gaige's absolute favorite pistol, and the thought of parting with it actively pains her, but if it's in the pursuit of _romance_ she'll put on her big girl panties and deal. Some things are bigger than a favorite gun. 

Salvador gives this offer due consideration, eyes flicking back and forth between Gaige and the Maliwan in Krieg's hands. He _does_ want the Gwen's Head, and has wanted it for a while now. That aside, he also really honestly wants to see where this whole Psycho-Siren situation is going to go, partially because it's just entertaining, but also because Krieg and Maya are his friends, and they make each other happy. So even though he's losing out on the SMG, if he gets the Gwen's Head out of it _and_ possibly a Pandoran soap opera, it's a win-win. "Mmmmm, okay, you've convinced me."

"Okay! Awesome! Now Krieg - " She whirls back around to face Krieg again. "I'm giving Sally my _favoritest_ pistol in the _whole world_ so you can have that gun to give to Maya. You _gotta_ give it to her, okay? 'Cos if you don't I'm gonna be _really_ upset!"

Krieg is honestly not sure why this is so damned important to Gaige, and if he had any room to judge what "weird" was, then he would definitely be labeling this whole situation as _weird._ He really isn't, though, and truthfully, it doesn't even cross his mind.

_Give it to her with the flowers._

"Mnnghh..." he twitches heavily against the muscle tic in his neck, and wraps his fingers more tightly around the gun in his hands. He _really_ wants to keep it, but he knows Maya's been wanting a new corrosive SMG for a while, and the Maliwan he's holding is exactly what she's been looking for. If he gives it to her, he knows she'll love it.

He's not so sure about the flowers, but she probably won't hate them.

"Krieeeeeeg?" Gaige is clearly waiting to get a more definitive response.

"Mnnnnghhh...!" He grumbles, and fidgets, and drops his gaze to the ground while he considers. It takes a few moments, but once he's done, he looks back up at Gaige. "I'll give the smig to the Pretty Lady."

"Yessss!" Gaige pumps a triumphant fist in the air, before turning back to Salvador.

"Gun me, Pigtails." Sal holds out an expectant hand.

"Take good care of her for me, Sally," Gaige says, a little tearfully, as she hands over the coveted pistol.

"Hah! You know I will."

On the way out, Krieg pauses to swipe the flowers still propped up by the rat's nest door. Miraculously, they only have a little blood on them.

"Oooooooh, Krieg! Good idea!" The big guy's initiative soothes the soreness that is the loss of Gwen, and Gaige is even more pumped to get back to Sanctuary now.

Krieg gives them the slip when they return to Scooter's to turn in the mission, but there aren't a lot of places in Sanctuary for the giant man to hide. In fact, on leaving the garage, she spies a flash of orange up on the roof on the other side of the yard. She may be young and have no real-life experience with these things, but she's read a romance novel or two in her day so she knows how this works. So instead of climbing up there to confront the psycho, Gaige instead turns her sights to finding the siren. It's time to really play wingman.

Maya is easy to find, thankfully, just finishing up a late lunch at Moxxi's.

"Hey, Maya! Krieg's got something for you. He's up on the roof he likes."

"He's. What?" Maya was not expecting this information just dropped on her out of the blue, and she's not sure she heard Gaige correctly.

"Krieg! Go see him up on the roof!"

"Uh. Okay." She's a little weirded out by Gaige's sudden appearance and announcement, but she doubts it's _bad_. Also, it's just weird enough to make her curious. So Maya heads out to climb the roofs to the spot where she likes to read to Krieg.

He's there, right where Gaige had said he would be, sitting where he always sits.

"Hey, Krieg," she calls out to him as she always does, coming up on his left so that he can easily turn to see her. He whips around at the sound of her voice so quickly it's almost comical. She smiles at him and moves to sit down next to him. "Gaige said you had something--" She trails off, because now that she's beside him, she can indeed see he has _something._ The flowers in his lap are a little weird, but the _SMG_...

"Sunset colors for Blue!" he says, and awkwardly shoves both the Maliwan and the flowers at her.

"Oh." For a moment, she has no idea how to respond. _What is even happening?_ "Oh, _wow,_" her second exclamation is much softer than the first, and she takes the flowers - dotted liberally with spattered blood, she can't help but notice - and the gun from his hands. She sets the flowers on the ledge beside her to focus on the gun. It's _exactly_ the kind of SMG she's been wanting. She's never made her preference for Maliwans a secret, but the fact that Krieg _remembered_, when he generally has a lot of difficulty remembering, is beyond touching. Her stomach and her heart feel full to bursting with warmth. For the first time in her life that she can remember, she feels _giddy._

She's sure she's grinning like an idiot as she turns the gun over in her hands.

"You like it?"

"Krieg, I _love_ it! _Thank_ you!" Maya does something then that surprises the both of them - she leans up and kisses his cheek. It's a spontaneous act of affection that leaves her feeling a little awkward after she's done it, especially when she notices she's left a mark. The blue of her lipstick contrasts sharply with the orange on his mask.

"Mnhuahahahaha!" Krieg's resulting laughter is probably the happiest she's ever heard, and the brief moment of uncertainty fades away. "Shoot all the bullets and melt all the faces!"

"Oh, you better _believe_ I will, big guy."

On the ground, just out of sight around the building's corner, Gaige and Salvador grin at each other and slap their palms together in a quiet low-five.


	28. 11b. Claptrap's Birthday Bash

None of the vault hunters are particularly excited about the idea of participating in Claptrap's birthday party, but none of them are big enough assholes to blow it off completely, either. So when the little robot asks them to hand out party invites, they look at each other, shrug, and do as they're asked.

"Nerd kid solidarity!" Gaige, with her uncomfortable ability to relate all too well to being semi-ostracized, is the most enthusiastic of the six. The party's bound to last just a couple hours, all of her friends will be there, and it'll be a nice chance to just hang out and chill with her favorite people in the universe. Also, she honestly doesn't mind Claptrap. As far as she can tell, he's a good little dude who's always trying his best. Even if his best is sometimes really annoying.

"It's a party, so at least there'll be food, yeah? That's worth showing up for." Axton is always down for a free meal. And since he's not very picky (no one who survived their time in the Dahl military can afford to be picky), he's sure to be at least _satisfied._ And if nothing else, all his pals will be there. He even counts Krieg in that group, these days. He's still wary around the big psycho, but he's spent enough time with him by now even he's noticed how different Krieg is in the middle of a fight vs. in the middle of Sanctuary. Claptrap will be outnumbered six-to-one.

"He's pretty annoying, but he _did_ help us get off that glacier." Maya's never been to a birthday party before. The monks on Athenas hadn't held with such sentimental nonsense, just like with basically everything else that could be considered _fun_. She's curious to see what all the fuss is about, if nothing else.

Marcus' derisive laughter is..._uncomfortable._ No one's upset that the cranky arms dealer doesn't want to get in on the party.

"Come _on_, he's not _that_ bad." Salvador really doesn't mind Claptrap, honestly. Yeah, the little robot's annoying as hell sometimes, but he's also _hilarious_. And he's even sometimes hilarious on purpose! That time he'd paid the vault hunters to blow up bandit furnaces and spent the whole time on the ECHO making cold jokes and ice puns had been _classic._ Salvador wants more missions like _that._

Moxxi's "thanks but no thanks" is understandable, at least. Claptrap does have a weirdly uncomfortable fixation on _ladies._ No one can blame her for wanting to avoid prolonged contact with a personality like that.

"Claptrap code is a / series of ones and zeroes. / Two zeroes make boobs." Like everything else on Pandora, Claptrap is _interesting._ Zer0 has rarely been bored since they arrived, and as such, they're having the time of their life. It's too bad no one apparently wants to go to the little robot's party. But the other vault hunters will be there, and that alone guarantees if not a good, then at least an interesting time.

"You know I'd go, but...I ain't gonna." Scooter can't even be bothered to come up with a lame excuse to get out of going.

"_Smother_ my birthday pancake in the sweet jellies of crippling notoriety!" Birthday parties are a thing normal people do, right? If that's the case, Krieg is down. It sucks that all the friends Claptrap invited don't want to go, but that also means more pizza for _him_ so he's definitely not going to lose any sleep over the losers who opted out.

The party is a blast. Claptrap's preparations are basic but solid - pizza, music, party poppers. When the lack of beverages is made note of, Salvador drags Krieg with him to Moxxi's, and the two return a short time later laden with barrels of rakk ale. The subsequent drinking contest between Axton and Salvador is epic, complete with some friendly betting amongst the observers, and plenty of goading and cheering. The results are inconclusive by the time they've emptied the first barrel, so they call it a draw.

With two of the team's three muscleheads lightly sauced, it's easy to get the dancing started. Axton goes in first with a solo boogie, and then Gaige grabs Zer0 by one hand and Claptrap by the other and starts dancing with all three of them. Claptrap is instantly into it, spinning, squatting, and twirling like there's no tomorrow. Zer0 merely stands there awkwardly, flashing a red question mark in front of their faceplate.

"It's dance time, Amigo!" Salvador slaps Zer0 on the back and joins the dancers.

"Hell yeah, time to get down!" Axton grabs Zer0's free hand and spins them around. Zer0's faceplate flashes a red "WTF?", some more question marks, and then, finally, a "¯\\_(ツ)_/¯" They start moving with the beat along with their friends, and do it far more gracefully than the two muscleheads and the geek girl.

"You better get in here, you wallflowers!" Gaige informs Maya and Krieg, who have yet to join in. Claptrap's little corner isn't exactly big enough for either dancing _or_ wallflowering, but somehow both are being managed. Maya and Krieg look at each other. She raises her eyebrows, he shrugs, and - as Gaige had requested - they get in there.

The vault hunters dance, and drink, and eat, and chat for far longer than the two or three hours most of them anticipated. The little shindig is a rare chance for them to spend time together in an environment where they're not being constantly shot at, and once they all get into it, they _relish_ it.

Zed has to come out of his clinic in the wee hours of the morning to yell at them to turn down the goddamn music. Gaige, drunk on the power of lax drinking laws and the presence of five people she trusts maybe a little more than she should, gets drunk for real. She finishes the night puking in the gutter. Axton holds her up while she does, patiently explains that she's not going to die even though she vehemently disagrees, and promises not to tease her the next day until _after_ she recovers from her inevitable hangover. Everybody high-fives Claptrap as they leave. Salvador high-fives him twice - the second one is for Gaige because Gaige is too miserable to raise her hand for the effort.

"Thanks for the party, Claptrap."

"Congratulations / on seven successful years. / Kickass party, bro."

"Happy birthday, little dude."

"The robot songs carve a bloody lullaby in my _bones!_"

"Happy birthday, Clappy!"

They take the empty kegs with them when they go, and there aren't any leftovers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always thought it was a little sad that no matter how many vault hunters make it to Claptrap's party in any given playthrough, the party is a failure. I can definitely see the party flopping with just one PC present, and possibly still failing with two, but with three, or a whole team of four? Come on, that's _a party_.


	29. 11c. Note for Self-Person

The decision to find the Goliath's gun stash immediately after finding the ECHO alerting them to its existence had been a poor one. The frigid, abandoned Dahl tunnels were infested with Rats, and the long and twisting corridors seemed never ending.

"Should we turn around and come back later, or spend the night?"

As soon as the words are out of her mouth, Maya knows which option she prefers. The idea of leaving now and coming back to slog through these tunnels all over again some other time is a bitter one. It may be freezing, but they can make a fire, and anyway, they don't have to stop _all_ night. Just an hour or two, long enough to rest up for the remainder of the trek.

"Ngggh...you can't make me go back!"

It's a relief to hear Krieg is on the same page.

"Agreed. Let's take a break."

Finding a rat-free corner and fuel for a campfire doesn't take long, and soon they're seated next to each other on the ground, backs to the wall, in front of a small but fierce blaze.

She's spread out an emergency blanket in an effort to insulate from the cold, but Maya begins to shiver as soon as she sits on the freezing ground anyway. 

"Shit, it's cold. How're you holding up, big guy?"

Krieg, as ever, seems totally unbothered by the chill. Since they're out in the field, he's seated himself with Maya on his blind side. His whole head turns when he looks at her.

"The fire in my gut never goes out!"

She used to think such references to gut fire were metaphorical, but she's witnessed Krieg _purposefully set himself on fire_ enough times by now she's starting to think he's being literal.

"...Wanna share?"

His follow up question surprises her, and she looks up at him sharply. He's studying her with his usual intensity. A motion out of the corner of her eye draws her gaze downward, and she finds herself staring at the palm of his outstretched hand. Surprised but curious, she reaches out with her own hand and presses her palm against his. 

Krieg's hand is enormous - hers looks like a doll's hand in comparison - and _warm_. The heat of his skin at that single point of contact makes the rest of her feel that much colder, and she shivers involuntarily. Before she consciously decides to do it, Maya moves the rest of her frozen self closer to him, tucking in under his arm, wrapping both her arms around his waist, and pressing against his side. He goes very stiff and very still when she does this, and for one horrible second she's afraid she's misunderstood, but then he relaxes and wraps his arm around her.

...Honestly, the smell isn't super great, but the steady radiating _warmth_ makes the odor more than bearable. And anyway, there's no contest between Krieg's particular cologne of sweat, burning, and gasoline and the Fridge's ambient smell of rot and feces. She'll take Eau de Psycho every time.

"Are you always this warm?" It's a boon now, obviously, but she can't imagine it's comfortable all the time, in every situation.

"All day every day!" there's unmistakable cheer in his voice as he shares this, and she smiles when she hears it. That cheer used to be very rare, but as the weeks pass and the team grows closer, it's become more common.

"You don't ever feel hot?"

"Mnahahahaha!" His unhinged laughter takes on a whole new depth with her ear pressed against his chest. It's weird to think she ever found the sound unsettling; now it's just the sound one of her best friends makes when he's happy. "I'm _always_ hot!"

"Heh. Smartass." She can't help the small smile that declaration inspires. "I meant, don't you ever feel overheated?"

"Mnnugh." That's a negatory grunt.

"...Huh. That's pretty handy."

"Mnnng." And an affirmative one.

Neither of them is very good at small talk, so the conversation dies off after that. Maya hadn't intended to actually sleep - just rest - but she's tired, and the warmth radiating from Krieg is so relaxing she drifts off before she realizes it.

The explosive percussion of Krieg's shotgun followed closely by rat screams startle her awake, and she shoves violently at something restraining her--

Krieg releases her as soon as she pushes at him, and he's quick to scramble to his feet after that.

The return to the rat slaughter from their rest is seamless, and after a few minutes it feels like they'd never even stopped. The only remnant of their break is the chill all down Maya's front, a freezing reminder of the warmth she'd had to abandon because of the rats. She's more motivated than ever to finish what they started, get the hell out, and never, ever come back.

It turns out their chosen break location was closer to their destination than she had guessed. They could have killed the goliath and left hours ago if they'd just pressed on a little further. But Maya is less annoyed about this than she might otherwise be, because the quiet time with Krieg had been excellent.

Also, the loot in the stash turns out to be _very_ worth it.


	30. 11d. Clan War: First Place

There's still a vault to find and a Handsome Jack to kill, but kicking his heels and waiting for intel and for the higher ups to decide on a plan is _boring_.

Helping Ellie start a clan war, on the other hand, is fucking _awesome._

Ellie is a hell of a gal. She's just the right mix of charisma and sincerity to be instantly likable, and then when you get to know her she just gets even better. Any of the vault hunters would kill for her (and have, actually). Axton is no exception.

The Zaford family had been the first to call for mercenaries after the he and the others had destroyed the Hodunk's tire and the Zaford still. Axton doesn't have any skin in this game, obviously, other than helping Ellie. He couldn't care less who wins, he's just here to have a good time. So when the first blow in the clan war involves dynamite and a race track, he's all in.

"_Somebody set us up the bomb!_" Krieg is also all in.

"Oh my GOD!" Gaige sounds like she just learned Christmas has come early this year. She lights up with a thousand-watt grin and turns to Krieg. "_You have no chance to survive, make your time!_" She raises a hand for a high five, and the big man delivers. 

"...Okay, nerdlords, what the actual fuck?"

Krieg's response to Axton's perfectly reasonable question is to bust his gut laughing. And so is Gaige's. For one terrible, chilling moment, Axton feels like he's become someone's out-of-the-loop father. Not Gaige's, because she's not _that_ much younger than he is, and definitely not Krieg's, because even though the man's face and age are a mystery, Axton is like 90% sure Krieg is _older_ than he is. Nevertheless, the looming sense of _dadness_ is settling around his shoulders like a vise.

He kind of hates that this is what he's becoming. Being an out-of-bounds, glory-hogging asshole was _so_ much easier in the army. Here on Pandora, he's a class clown surrounded by class clowns. After Maya, _he's_ somehow the one with the most maturity. Whenever Maya isn't around, Axton is forced to put on his big boy pants act like an actual adult, and _damn_ it sucks.

"...Okay, fine, are we going to blow up this racetrack, or what?" Sometimes, the best way to survive a bout of Krieg's manic and semi-terrifying laughter is to power through and pretend that it isn't happening.

Also, exploding a bunch of cars with the drivers still inside sounds like a perfectly non-dadly activity, and the sooner they can get to the earth-shattering kabooms, the happier Axton will be.

"_Oh my god, I can't breathe…_ Yes!" Gaige gets over her hysterics first, and jabs Krieg in the ribs with her robot elbow. Krieg's laughter is slower to cease, and metamorphoses into highly unsettling giggling before he finally stops.

"Sing me the savory song of explosion barbeque and I'll waltz with the crispy meat puppets until dawn!"

"...Al_right_, that's what I like to hear!" Maybe not those _exact_ words, because word salad, and also, _gross_, but Krieg's sentiment is clear and Axton can absolutely get behind that.

He still feels like a dad shepherding two poorly-behaved children on a dynamite field trip, though. When they make it out to the Dust and Gaige wants to drive, Axton finds himself saying _absolutely not_. The last time the mechromancer has been allowed to drive she'd rolled the technical by banking too sharply, and as a bonus had also nearly flung all of them over the side of a cliff. Then Krieg wants to drive, and Axton isn't having any of that, either. For all the psycho is a surprisingly competent driver - in most situations - he has a tendency to swerve violently in order to run over any spiderant, skag, or bullymong he sees. With the dense population of spiderants between Ellie's garage and the Hodunk speedway, Axton can see this road-trip getting too easily side-tracked.

"I'll let you drive on the way back, big guy."

It's not like he doesn't get a kick out of Krieg's artistic roadkill, because he does. But he also wants to get this job finished so they can collect the spoils.

"What!? No fair!"

"_You_ need driving lessons, Nerdlet," the dad words are out of his mouth before he can stop them.

"So teach me to drive on the way to the Hodunk's, Dahlly Boy!"

"Wow, not even a 'please?' That's not gonna get you very far."

"Please?" Gaige is shameless. He likes that about her.

"Not today. Fight with Krieg about who's riding shotgun. I'm driving."

Krieg is nice and lets Gaige man the turret.

Axton gets the three of them to the Hodunk's speedway in one piece, just as intended, and they sabotage the fireworks, just as directed. It's almost uncomfortably easy to do so, with the only witness to their sabotage assuming they're simply double-checking the setup. Killing the man is also a little uncomfortable, but...whatever. 

The race begins almost as soon as the unlucky Hodunk's body hits the ground. From their vantage in the technician's booth, it's mostly impossible to see the racers until the participants are right up to the bridge. They nail two of the three vehicles with the Zaford's dynamite, but the last racer is trailing so far behind they manage to avoid the dynamite entirely. That's when Krieg produces a missile launcher that Axton hadn't realized he possessed, and loudly takes out the last racer with one final, spectacular explosion.

Leaving the scene of the crime is as laughably easy as entering it had been. No one bothers them, and Krieg claims the driver's seat in their technical before either Axton or Gaige can stop him.

The return drive to Ellie's is punctuated by about twenty instances of spiderant roadkill, about twenty instances of Gaige kill-stealing (because Axton was also nice and let her man the turret), and a lot of good-natured yelling between all three of them as the driver and the gunner compete for the most kills and the beleaguered passenger wonders if maybe he should've just walked back.

They eventually make it back after Axton declares a draw and proclaims both Krieg and Gaige to be equals in the fine art of spiderant squishing. This seems to suit the psycho just fine, but Gaige isn't satisfied.

"Hey!" Once they're both out of the technical, she comes up next to him, slips an arm around his waist, and bumps roughly into him with her boney hip.

"Hey!" he replies, curling an arm around her head and pulling her in tight for what he considers to be a well-deserved noogie.

"Oh my god, _Ax!!_" She yells and struggles and slams her heel into his toes; it's not a particularly effective maneuver on steel-toed leather, but he gives her an A for effort and relaxes his grip on her head with a cheeky grin.

"Jerk!!" She gives him a shove but he can tell she's not actually angry. "You _totally_ owe me driving lessons! _And_ lunch! And also dinner!"

"Wow, that's sure a way to ask for all those favors."

"It is after a friggin' _noogie!_"

"Aww, you know you love it. What kind of adoring and handsome big brother figure would I be if I didn't make your life mildly uncomfortable from time to time?"

Gaige doesn't even hesitate. "An ideal one."

"Ouch."

"Just telling it like it is~"

"Hmmm. Do you _really_ want those driving lessons? Because I'm not convinced you do."

"I swear to god, if you're trying to make me _beg_, I'll just ask Krieg to show me."

"_Lead foot is the best cruise control!_" Comes Krieg's helpful interjection. With that one succinct sentence, the big man gives Axton a horrifying glimpse into Eternity, and he doesn't like what he sees.

"...Okay, fine, you've convinced me."

"Yessss! You're the best!" Gaige lights up with a thousand-watt grin and throws her arms around him. It's a warm and fuzzy moment, so he hugs her back.

"Hell yeah, I am, and you'd better not forget it."

"...Ax, bro, I was talking to Krieg."

The big man's gut-busting laughter once again rings in Axton's ears, but honestly? He can't even be mad. That burn was perfectly executed, and he couldn't be more proud.


	31. 12. Wildlife Preservation

Coming here was a mistake.

Krieg has never sat out a mission before. It had never occurred to him. The words "Wildlife Exploitation Preserve" hadn't pinged a sense of unease the way certain words and phrases sometimes do. The bad feeling doesn't even hit until they've tricked their way past the gate and into the complex proper.

It's only then that he realizes he recognizes this place. He's been through here before, going in the opposite direction, covered in blood and leaking slag out of torn IV punctures up and down both arms. He'd been choking on his own bile and rage, screaming nonsensically and lashing out like a crippled animal at anything that moved. He remembers the violent, visceral satisfaction from every swing of his axe that resulted in the wet, meaty death of one of his tormentors.

With every step deeper into the preserve, Krieg can feel his blood in his veins, delivering the stinging, poisonous slag to every cell in his body. The voices of his friends are muted, quiet, muffled by the rushing pulse pounding in his ears. He can't tell whether or not his nerve endings are actually on fire or if he's just imagining it, but it doesn't really matter. He keeps his eye fixed squarely on Maya, grasping desperately for a lifeline.

The sight of her helps, and the presence of his other friends does too, but it's not enough. When the Hyperion personnel emerge from the depths of the complex in an attempt to stop the vault hunters' infiltration, he embraces the beast more eagerly than he ever has before and drowns himself in his own bloodlust. It's a cloak and a shield, thick and insulating, better than a physical barrier against the memories clawing to surface. The past and the present overlap, and the adrenaline flooding his system blurs the line between what's happening in his head and what's happening in the world even more.

Eventually the targets run out, and he's left with the boiling rage and surrounded by human shapes he still somehow manages to recognize as _not for killing._

"Why did your _blood_ stop singing its sweet song?" This question is addressed to the battered remains of a Hyperion engineer sprawled at his feet. 

"Woah, easy there, big guy." The sound of Maya's voice calls him back. But for the first time since he met her, he resists. He doesn't want to come back. If he does then he'll remember where he is, and without the monster he'll have to choke down the memories again on his own.

"Never stop the killing! _Never!_" there's no time for thinking, because if he thinks then he'll have to remember, so he turns his back on Maya and leaps down off the pedestrian walkway where the Hyperion resistance had ended and into the skag enclosure. He doesn't see the uneasy glances exchanged among his friends as he tears into the resident skag population. He barely notices the silhouettes of Salvador and Maya only moments later in the periphery of his vision, providing cover fire as he takes on the world with his buzzaxe.

There's a broken wall that's become a ramp into a run-down and long disused observation tower. He's halfway up it when he hears Handsome Jack's voice come out of the ECHO log Gaige has found and played. But it's not Jack's voice that causes him to freeze in his tracks. It's the voice that comes after.

"_It's _Doctor Samuels._ The test subject is still conscious, you can't expect me to…_"

He doesn't hear the rest of the recording. It's like the sound of the doctor's voice flips a switch in his brain, and whatever remnant of his own self awareness he'd had left gives everything over to the monster.

"Shit. He's finally lost it." For all Axton had been the one with the strongest objection to keeping Krieg around, he sure doesn't sound happy to have his suspicions confirmed.

"He's been here before." Maya's reply is terse, because after hearing that ECHO and seeing Krieg's reaction to it, her stomach is in knots. She has no comment on the commando's statement, because she's half afraid he's right. It looks like they've inadvertently stumbled closer to the source of the big man's problems, and also just made them a hundred times worse.

"Slag experimentation..._Shit._ What is _wrong_ with this psycho?"

It does make Maya feel a teeny, tiny bit better knowing that Krieg isn't the psycho to whom Axton is referring. "Everything. He's beyond messed up. He's got a lot to answer for, and the list just keeps getting longer."

"Hey! Are you two coming, or are you gonna take a nap?" The others had gone ahead with Krieg while Axton and Maya had paused to speak, and now Salvador has doubled back to collect them.

"Look, just...We'll keep an eye on him like always. If things get nasty, I can phaselock him. Before we do anything else, we'll try to calm him down first, okay?"

"You got it, chief."

Maya still feels like vomiting, but Axton's immediate and argument-free agreement helps center her. Knowing that she doesn't have to worry about what he might do on top of how Krieg is acting is a huge relief.

They follow Salvador to the others, and then they all follow Krieg deeper into the preserve.

Bloodwing has been moved from the enclosure Mordecai had directed them to, because of course she has. Once this discovery is made and Jack has mocked them for their efforts to this point, all of the other, surrounding enclosures still containing various flavors of slag-enhanced wildlife are opened. The ensuing bloodbath is no more difficult than any of the previous ones so far.

Krieg is still like a stranger, unpredictable and feral, throwing himself into the fight far more suicidally than Maya has ever witnessed. One by one, she makes eye contact with the others in the process of taking out the mutated creatures. Axton, Salvador, and Gaige all share identical concerned, grim expressions. When she makes what she assumes is eye contact with Zer0, their faceplate flashes with a red ">:T" emote.

With the last of the creatures in that particular part of the preserve dead, Krieg screams incoherently and pushes onward, disappearing even deeper into the complex without waiting for any of the others.

"Um..." Gaige has found another ECHO recording. She's clearly torn, wanting to pause in their mad rush forward for long enough to listen, but not wanting to let Krieg get too far ahead on his own. 

"I will watch his back," Zer0 promises, and slips down the corridor after the big man.

"I'll listen later!" Salvador is right behind Zer0, leaving Maya, Axton, and Gaige to listen to the record.

Maya is half afraid this second ECHO will contain some record of Krieg's time in this place, but the voice of the test subject begging for the safety of his husband is unfamiliar. Learning Dr. Samuels' motivation for her cruel work adds another few knots to the growing collection in Maya's gut. She can barely imagine having a husband or a wife, but she's settled enough into friendship with the other vault hunters she _can_ imagine how painful it would be if someone were to use them as emotional leverage against her. The woman in the ECHO is as much a victim of Jack's depravity as the people she's forced to torture.

She wonders if Krieg remembers the doctor. There's no way she's going to ask him, though. Not after seeing how just being here has affected him.

Krieg doesn't show any signs of slowing or calming as they continue further in, which only increases Maya's concern. But he also doesn't display a single moment of aggression towards herself or any of the others, despite how deep he is in his bloodlust. She's not sure if it's because he still recognizes them, or if it's because he's simply unaware of them.

She knows which one of those options she would prefer, but as long as he continues to ignore them, then it really doesn't matter.

They find two more ECHO recordings, which they take turns listening to with Krieg out of earshot. Everybody gets an unpleasant surprise when they recognize the voice of a younger, terrified Tiny Tina.

"...That explosion must be how he got out, too," Gaige murmurs at the end of the final recording.

That's not the end of their unpleasant discoveries, unfortunately. They still have to find Bloodwing, and with the way Jack has been mocking them over the ECHO as they press deeper into the preserve, whatever he's got up his sleeve is going to be awful.

And it is.

Jack has wasted no time throwing slag at Bloodwing since her capture, and the level of mutation he's achieved in such a short period is terrifying. She's easily four or five times the size she's supposed to be, and as a bonus, the slag has driven her mad.

...Just like someone else they all know.

Listening to Mordecai's directions over the ECHO as he tries to help the vault hunters calm her down is heart wrenching. Keeping half an eye on Bloodwing and half an eye on Krieg while they try to follow those directions is a challenge no one asked for, but thankfully the vault hunters still outnumber the unfortunate slag experiments two-and-a-half to one. Also thankfully, Krieg seems to have forgotten he possesses a number of long-distance firearms, and there's not a whole lot he can accomplish with his axe versus a flying target.

Jack gloats unbearably as he forces Bloodwing to demonstrate the effects of the slag's mutation. Corrosion, electricity, fire…

_This is why Krieg can breathe fire._

It's not the greatest moment for that epiphany, but Maya knows such thoughts rarely turn up at appropriate moments.

The combined efforts of the vault hunters eventually give Mordecai a clear shot, and he nails Bloodwing with a tranq dart. It takes effect almost instantly, and the giant bird half settles and half falls gracelessly to the ground, obviously struggling for breath. That gives them just enough time to retrieve the microchip they need from her collar before Jack remembers the element he'd "forgotten" to demonstrate. 

"_Oh, now I remember! EXPLOSIIIIIIVE!!_"

And just like that, Bloodwing's collar detonates.

Mordecai's scream of anguish is what cuts through the cloak of bloodlust and pulls Krieg back; it happens so suddenly he has no chance to resist. He recognizes the corpse of Bloodwing at his feet, and for a horrifying moment, his heart freezes. _What did we do?!_ He and the voice are in rare agreement. He hates that less than he hates the sight of Mordecai's beloved bird, who they had been sent to _rescue_, dead. Her head is gone, and the ground is coated with bone, blood, and brain matter for meters around.

"_I'm sorry about Bloodwing, soldier, but we've gotta keep moving._"

Roland's voice speaking up over the ECHO network doesn't exactly explain things, but it's enough to make Krieg think that maybe whatever just happened here isn't his fault. The faces of his companions all look varying shades of grim, shellshocked, and upset.

Except for Zer0, whose faceplate is unusually blank. Which is probably for the best, as even a sincere sad-face emoji would look kind of sarcastic.

It's a small comfort, but no one looks like they're upset with him.

He sees Maya's face last, because she's standing right beside him on his blind side. She looks just as miserable as the others, but when their eyes meet, her expression changes to something indescribable. 

"...Welcome back, big guy," she murmurs, and places a hand on his arm. That touch is more reassuring to him than anything else she might have to say, but he has to ask, because he doesn't remember:

"Did I do a good murder?" His throat is always some kind of raw from all the berserk yelling he does on a near daily basis, but today the pain of speaking is next level. He can barely get his question out past all the ground glass in his throat.

"Uh." Maya blinks, and furrows her brow. Her gaze tracks back to the sad remains of Bloodwing. "Yes and no." 

He accepts that answer for what it is. Maya is always straightforward with him unless the answer to a question he asks is complicated. And when that happens, she always tries her best to uncomplicate the answer. She's obviously upset, just like the others, but she's also not accusing Krieg of anything, so _yes and no_ is good enough.

"Let's get the hell out of here." That's Axton, saying what probably everyone is thinking. Krieg doesn't recognize the arena-like enclosure where Bloodwing was killed, but as soon as they exit he quickly develops a nagging sense of deja vu. Before he can work up to a proper panic, Maya is at his side, hooking her elbow through his.

"Take it easy, big guy. We're leaving."

"But we'll be back later to burn this place to the ground!" Salvador says, with a friendly slap on Krieg's back.

"Just some of us! You don't have to come if you don't want to," Gaige chimes in.

"We'll film it for you," Zer0 offers. "Or you can climb the mountain, and watch from up there."

"Let's record it anyway. Then we can watch it later with popcorn." Axton's idea is greeted with a chorus of agreement.

The other vault hunters continue to make plans, keeping his attention bouncing back and forth among them and distracting him from his surroundings. It doesn't occur to Krieg what his friends are doing, but the voice in his head is very aware of it, and he's touched. Not that anyone will ever know.

They make it out of the Hyperion complex without incident, but Jack has one last moonshot delivery for them once they hit the path back to the Highlands. It's just another round of loaders, but as they prepare to engage, Mordecai ECHOs them to tell them to get down. They all hesitate at the unexpected command, and in that pause, Mordecai begins firing from his mountaintop perch.

"DIE, ASSHOLES!"

He one-shots the nearest loader.

"SCREW YOU! _SCREW YOU!_" And then a second, and a third, one for each epithet.

"_VETE AL DIABLO_, YOU SONS OF BITCHES!" One by one, Mordecai takes them all out while the vault hunters watch. By the time the last loader falls, Gaige is crying openly, tears streaming down her face. Axton drapes an arm around her narrow shoulders. His face is streaked with tears, too. Mordecai's grief is visceral, and the pain in his voice is cutting. Salvador and Maya are both misty eyed, and even Zer0 has bowed their head. Only a monster could listen to a man so heartbroken and remain unaffected.

Krieg's vision is blurred, his face beneath his mask wet with tears. He hadn't known he was still capable of crying. His heart hurts for Mordecai. He's not used to feeling pain like this, and he's not sure how to react to the experience.

They all stand quietly for several long minutes after the last loader falls. Mordecai has gone silent. The only sounds to be heard are the ambient noises of the mountain, a few sniffles from Gaige, and the occasional spark and crackle of the destroyed robots.

"...Let's get back, guys." Maya finally breaks the silence, and her voice is rough. She reaches out to touch Krieg's wrist, and settles her hand there.

Somber and subdued, the vault hunters return to Sanctuary.


	32. 12a. Rakkaholics Anonymous

Even though the whole thing with Bloodwing had gone to shit, there's still more that needs to be done. But, the vault hunters figure, acquiring the next piece of their "beat Jack" puzzle can wait for the amount of time it takes to collect some booze and free some animals. Mordecai is, understandably, in rough shape, and it feels like there's nothing else they can do to pay their respects.

Maya's split the team to take care of Mordecai's tasks; half because it's just more efficient time-wise, and half because one of the tasks involves returning to the Preserve, and absolutely no one wants to ask Krieg to go back there.

So Axton, Gaige, and Krieg are in charge of hijacking a team of moonshiners out in the Dust.

"Can I drive _this_ time?"

Even though he'd been expecting the question, Axton still hesitates. He's not exactly sure furnishing an admitted alcoholic with even _more_ alcohol is wise, regardless of whether or not the man is mourning, so he's not really in a hurry to finish this mission and get back. Also, it's the Dust, and even though there are a few cliffs at the edge of the territory, he's pretty sure the moonshiners won't be hanging out near those. They'll have plenty of wide open space for inexperienced teenage maneuvers. He's also pretty sure Krieg will get a kick out of the lesson, and as the weeks have passed, Axton has come to believe that anything that keeps the big guy cheerful is worth some time and effort. He's pretty sure they finally saw him at his worst in the Wildlife Preserve. And his worst had involved absolutely ignoring all of them while he went psycho on literally everything else that moved. So, weirdly or not, he's a lot less worried Krieg might snap one day.

And, forgetting that? Krieg is just fun to be around when he's happy.

"Yeah, okay, fine."

"_Yessss!_" Gaige vaults into the driver's seat before Axton has finished speaking.

"First time drivers need twenty roadkills to pass the course!" Krieg remarks as he hops into the technical's bed, leaving the turret clear for Axton.

"I'm gonna have _fifty_ before we're done!"

"Roadkill's only for bonus points today, Nerdlet." Axton hauls himself into the gunner seat. "We've got paint thinner to collect."

"I thought we were getting Rakk ale?"

"Same difference."

Gaige miscalculates the technical's acceleration right off the bat, and they blast straight out of Ellie's yard and into the spider ant junk pile just outside it.

"Train won't stop!" Krieg yells gleefully from the back seat over the loud crash of the collision. Luckily the technical is built like a tank. Unluckily, it doesn't come equipped with airbags, or seat belts, or...pretty much any sort of typical safety feature.

Luckily, they're all pretty tough. The shields help.

"Okay, see, look, there are _two_ pedals down there. You step on the _other_ one to _stop._" Axton is already regretting this.

"Pfff! I know that!"

"Yeah, you do _now_, because I just told you."

"Whatever! How do I reverse?"

Krieg entertains himself by shooting spider ants while Axton talks Gaige through the process of reversing, getting them out of the trash pile, and then getting the technical pointed in the right direction.

"Okay. Just. _feather_ the gas. This thing handles like a drunk whale, so you need to get a feel for it _before_ you start in with the nerdlet zoomies."

"I wanna feel the wind in my hair!" is Krieg's contribution from the back.

"You don't have any hair!" Gaige calls back to him, which causes the big man to laugh hysterically.

"Glad you two are having fun!" Axton says sarcastically. This causes Gaige to join in with Krieg's laughter, and now he's stuck between two laughing assholes.

Was this how Sarah felt when Axton was on his bullshit? This is probably how Sarah felt when Axton was on his bullshit. _God_, he must have been insufferable. If he survives this driving lesson, Axton swears he'll find some way to make it up to her one day.

To give her credit, Gaige is very good at following instructions when she's not trolling him. Once she actually gets more of feel for the vehicle as Axton had suggested, she does just fine.

As long as she's driving in a straight line.

It's not long before the vault hunters espy their target - a blocky, square van laden with barrels and spikes. It's weaving in a dangerous loop around the Dust, driving at what Axton guesses is its top speed. And its top speed is very fast.

Moonshiner spotted, Gaige takes off in pursuit. As soon as she leaves the concrete strip that passes for a road, she's faced with an entire set of problems that would trouble even an experienced driver. The sand that covers the Dust is, by its very nature, uneven, bad for traction, and a pain to drive on.

"Woah, you weren't kidding about the drunk whale!" Somehow, Gaige sounds surprised, even though she'd been previously informed of this fact.

"Let go of the wheel! You're overcorrecting! And lay off the gas!"

"But we'll lose the booze!"

"Better that than our _lives!_"

"Don't be such a drama queen!"

"You don't die today! _You die every day!_"

"Thanks, Krieg!" Gaige shouts at the same time as Axton - 

"_You're not helping!_"

Their chorus prompts another bout of raucous laughter from the peanut gallery. Gaige takes half of Axton's advice, and stops trying to correct their course over the sand dunes. She doesn't back off on the gas, though. He's pretty sure she's learned that from Maya. Not that there's anything he can do with this knowledge, but there it is.

They somehow manage to follow the moonshiner into the canyon that runs along under the Goose's Roost. Then Gaige thinks it's a good idea to try driving and shooting at the same time. She misses the moonshiner by a wide margin, and scapes the technical against the canyon wall.

"_No Gatling gun! Just DRIVE!_" Axton howls, trying very hard not to think too closely about the proximity of the sheer rock. The only reason he doesn't look back to see how much paint they left behind is because they're going so fast he doubts he'll be able to see.

"Get closer so I can shoot it!" Krieg shouts from the back. Honestly, it's the first thing he's said since this "lesson" started that Axton doesn't hate.

"What he said!"

"Aww, come on, I can shoot and drive!" Gaige protests loudly.

"You can't hit the broad side of a bonerfart when your feet are on the ground and you have time to aim!" Axton counters.

"But I bet you can hit that wall with the car!" Krieg adds. It's one of those remarks that almost sounds encouraging until you think about it for a minute - 

"Aww, Krieg, you're such a bro--wait. _Hey!_"

Krieg laughs loudly, and Gaige does as Axton instructed, laying off the gun to focus on driving the drunk whale.

"Okay, now _they're_ turning left, and if we want to follow them without rolling the technical, _take your foot off the gas NOW._"

"But if I slow down they'll get away -"

"We'll catch up after! You can't drive on the sky!" Krieg interrupts. Axton breathes a prayer of thanks for the big guy's sudden support. 

With both her pals telling her to take it easy, Gaige very loudly makes it known that she's feeling utterly betrayed, but she also (thankfully) eases off the gas completely and grandmas her way out of the canyon. She even manages a nice, smooth turn-around by just coasting on the vehicle's momentum.

"Use the road to catch back up, and then try to come up beside them," Axton instructs.

"Okay, okay, jeez!" He can't see it, but he can tell she just rolled her eyes, which actually makes him feel a little better.

Things improve once she's got the technical running back along the sun-baked concrete, and the moonshiner quickly comes back into sight. Axton manages to knock a couple barrels off the vehicle as it weaves back and forth in front of them, before it banks to the left and cuts a wobbly arc around the perimeter of the old Dahlwell Oasis and turns around. That gives Krieg a small window for an open shot, which he takes. He manages to knock off a couple more before the moonshiner is out of range.

"It looks like it's doubling back to the canyon," Axton tells Gaige.

"Got it!"

"Remember, foot _off_ the gas before you--" He doesn't get to finish his instruction, because Gaige takes it upon herself to slam on the break. In a move that he'll probably be proud of just as soon as he recovers from the heart attack it caused, she manages to manipulate the technical's residual momentum into a neat - but abrupt - 180. Axton hears a loud _thump_ that sounds suspiciously like over 200 pounds of psycho being abruptly displaced from one side of the technical bed to the other.

"Hah! How was that!"

Instead of answering Gaige, Axton calls back to Krieg.

"You still with us back there, big guy?"

The response is pretty much immediate: "_You can't get rid of me that easily!_" Axton takes that as a yes.

"Oh, shit! Krieg! Are you okay, buddy? I'm sorry!"

"Drive me into the heart of the eclectic blood symposium, and I'll eat the infinite philosophy!"

Axton doesn't know what that means, and Gaige probably doesn't either, but Krieg is pretty clearly fine.

Gaige drives them back along the broken concrete road, and they meet the moonshiner again - head-on, this time. Axton has to admit it was a good strategy, and he's grateful that it occurred to Gaige to do this instead of attempting a second speed-run through the canyon. Maybe they'll survive this driving lesson, after all.

The gratitude is short lived, because it quickly becomes apparent that Gaige was angling to have a second run at shooting while driving. Once the moonshiner is in range, she goes ham on the gatling turret. The thing has poor accuracy and a wide spray - much like Gaige - but she does manage to knock a barrel off. Instead of reprimanding her, Axton focuses on attempting the same, launching oversized sawblades from the gunner seat at their target. He knocks down two more barrels, and then Krieg is able to blast off two more when the moonshiner drives past and almost sideswipes them.

Gaige cackles with delight as she slams on the brake and pulls her 180 maneuver for a second time. Either Krieg was ready for it this time or he was on the right side of the bed to keep from being tossed around, because Axton doesn't hear an accompanying _thud._

"Who can't hit the broad side of a bonerfart _now_, Dahlly Boy?"

"We still need more booze, you little murder gremlin." He's calling her names, but he's also grinning. This driving lesson has finally become more fun than it is terrifying.

"Noted!"

She slams on the gas and they go tearing off after the moonshiner once again. Axton gives up on telling Gaige not to shoot while driving, mostly because there's a lot less for her to run into on the open road than there had been in the canyon. She's able to bump off a second barrel, and Axton manages a couple more as well before the moonshiner skids off the road and loops back around.

"Okay, let's pick up the stuff that dropped and see where we're at."

After gathering the contraband, it turns out that they are flush with rakk ale. All it took was less than an hour and probably five or so years off of Axton's life. They cram the barrels in the technical bed, which leaves no room for Krieg, so he spends the return ride clinging to the vehicle's side. Axton notices Gaige seems to be taking _much_ more care now that her buddy's riding arrangement is about a hundred times more precarious than it was, which...well, of course she does. She's a friggin' sweetheart.

The warm fuzzies don't stop him from noogie-ing her brains out when they get back to Ellie's, though. She yells and wiggles and stomps on his toes like she always does, and when he finally lets her go with a grin, she huffs at him.

Then Krieg wraps one long arm around her, pulls her close, and noogies her, too.

Gaige's yells of mock outrage at this ultimate betrayal almost drown out the chorus of asshole laughter of her two pals. Almost.


	33. 12b. Animal Rights

Maya has returned to the Exploitation Preserve with Salvador and Zer0. Mordecai has asked the vault hunters to get revenge for Bloodwing by releasing the remaining wildlife experiments and making sure the creatures are able to maim, kill, and/or consume the Hyperion personnel on duty. It's not exactly the complex arson Salvador had promised Krieg, but it's still something. Their resources currently are stretched enough as it is, so for now liberating dangerous wildlife will have to do.

"How long do you think he was trapped here?" Salvador doesn't specify who 'he' is, but he really doesn't need to.

"Too long," is Maya's reply. 

"How long does it take / for slag to drive a man mad? / Who can even say?"

"Tannis probably can," is Maya's dry answer to Zer0's rhetorical question.

"Ah. But _will_ she say?" Zer0's mechanically modified voice is just as dry.

"That's the million dollar question, isn't it?"

"_Man_ this _pendejo_ is fucked up. And I thought he was bad when he sent an occupation force to Ovejas."

"That's your hometown?"

"Yeah. Buncha Hyperion bastards came out a while back to murder a town full of helpless civilians. It's pretty stupid, we got Ass-King _Cabrón_ up there crowin' over the ECHO about clearing out all the bandits on Pandora, and he's no better than one. Can't even tell the innocent people apart."

Maya is intrigued. What with one thing or another, this little bit of Salvador's history has never come up in her hearing before now. "Is that how you got into vault hunting?"

"Heh, pretty much, yeah."

"You didn't tell her about the promises of wealth and adventure," Zer0 points out.

"Well, yeah? Obviously that was a part of it, too."

"No reason it can't be both." Maya's in no position to judge the others, even if she were inclined to. They all had their reasons for getting on that train, and whatever those reasons were or still are, there's no question that they're a team, now.

That aside, Salvador is pretty clearly a good guy. The list of crimes on his wanted poster _does_ raise some questions - mostly the cannibalism bullet point - but given how out of touch with reality Jack is, she's prepared to take even that bizarre list with a grain of salt.

Also, she'd just straight up asked him about it, the first time she'd seen the poster. "_It was ONE time!_" had been all he'd wanted to say on the subject. Given how absolutely shameless he was on literally every other topic under the sun, Maya had guessed there was likely a reason besides the obvious taboo he didn't want to talk about, so she'd dropped it and never brought it up again. 

The Exploitation Preserve is lightly staffed, probably because it's still recovering from their previous assault. Being back here makes Maya uncomfortable, and she's glad Krieg is in the Dust right now with Axton and Gaige. She'll be even more glad when they've finished with Mordecai's request and left forever.

They find the first batch of experimental animals at the far end of the dockyard, before the stairs leading up to the skag enclosure. After making sure her companions are prepared, Maya flips the lever that releases the stalkers.

The freed creatures ignore the three vault hunters completely, leaping instantly on the animal handlers that appear to contain them and viciously ripping them limb from limb. Maya and the others wind up with a show instead of a fight, which is maybe the weirdest part about this whole endeavor. Zer0 does distribute a few strategic bullets designed to handicap the Hyperion workers and assist the stalkers, but beyond that, the vault hunters have little to do besides watch.

When the stalkers finish their slaughter, they disappear over the edge of the docks and into the water. The vault hunters move further in.

"Do you think that doctor is still alive? The one Jack was blackmailing?" Salvador looks and sounds a lot more relaxed than Maya feels. She wishes she knew the secret to however he's achieved that zen. Being back here is stressful, even with Krieg safely and happily far away. The ghost of his captivity here lingers, and her imagination is overactive and merciless. Memories of the ECHO recordings she'd heard here, what had been done to Bloodwing, and the way Krieg had completely lost it when he'd realized where they were paint an atrocious picture in her mind's eye.

The cherry on top is the knowledge that whatever she's capable of imagining, Handsome Jack is capable of much, much worse.

So it should go without saying that she's enormously grateful Salvador and Zer0 are here with her, both for the support they provide and the distraction they offer.

"Who knows? I kind of hope she is. I'd love to talk to her."

"Heh. Talk, or _talk?_" Salvador's gotten to know Maya pretty well, it seems. His question is right on point.

"...Yes." She shrugs and grins, a little ruefully. "But I don't know if _talking_ would be necessary. I really don't think she was happy about what she was doing."

"Did anyone see human subjects during our previous assault?" Zer0 asks.

"Mm, no, I didn't see any. Did you, Sal?"

"Nope. Maybe we went through the wrong part of the complex last time."

"Could be." Zer0 sounds thoughtful. "Or they could have been moved."

"Ugh...you're probably right. This place is pretty run down. And it's not like Hyperion's hurting for money to build newer, better facilities."

"We'll shut 'em down for good, once we kill Jack," Salvador promises. The confidence in his voice is nice to hear. Maya still has some doubts that they'll be able to manage that, much less circumvent the Hyperion Death Wall to assault the bunker and liberate the vault key from within Angel's chambers. Her concerns are less to do with the capability of her crew, which by now she knows is prodigious, and more to do with the sheer scale of the challenge before them.

Still, that's a problem for the future. If there's one thing she's learned since coming to Pandora, it's that it's much more important to worry about the present.

They find the next batch of wildlife experiments in the aptly-named Wildlife Maintenance section of the complex. This time Salvador flips the switch, and a pack of skags exit their cages and descend on the Hyperion personnel in that sector. The creatures behave exactly as the stalkers had before, totally ignoring the vault hunters in favor of dismembering their torturers.

"Huh. I could get used to indifferent wildlife." She could, but she won't. This _is_ a pretty nice change of pace from the usual, though.

"Man, if I'd known it was gonna be _this_ easy, I'd've brought popcorn," Salvador remarks.

This time they all place a few strategic bullets in Hyperion ankles and knees to help out the skags. Because spectating just feels weird.

"Do you think there's anything we can do to help him?" Salvador pulls them back to the topic of Krieg once all the keepers are dead and the skags have escaped through a side door.

"Can psychology as we know it even help manage slag madness?" Zer0's question is a reasonable one.

Maya is doubtful. "Probably not; it's not like there's a ton of research on the topic. Just...what's been done here. And from what I've seen, people's mental health is not something Hyperion is concerned with."

"And I'd bet my favorite gun Tannis won't be any help." Salvador doesn't have any particular problem with Tannis, but he's never been a fan of the way she looks at his buddy - it's pretty clear she wants to strap Krieg to an operating table and dissect him like a frog.

"Yeah, I wouldn't take you up on that bet." Although Maya hasn't heard her express the desire lately, she doesn't doubt Tannis still wants to experiment on Krieg. So she's not particularly inclined to question her on any topic relating to the big guy. As far as Maya is concerned, the less Tannis thinks about him, the better. Anyway, even if she does get an answer, it probably won't be much different than her educated guess, so there's really nothing to gain by reminding Tannis that Krieg exists.

"Perhaps we can help / with the power of friendship. / And also murder."

"Now _that's_ what I'm talkin' about!" Zer0's suggestion has Salvador grinning like a maniac, and Maya experiencing the alien sensation of "warm fuzzies." She'd had a similar conversation with Gaige what feels like ages ago, now. It's reassuring to know the others feel this way, too.

"I definitely think both of those things _are_ helping. A lot." She's not grinning as widely as Salvador, but she's definitely smiling. No one on the team can deny how much Krieg has improved since their first days together in the Windshear Waste. He's far more predictable, his word salad has improved a lot - making him easier to understand - and very rarely he becomes downright lucid. Even Axton has finally warmed up to him, which was not an outcome she had expected back in those first weeks.

The final creature on Mordecai's list is an enormous badass stalker that doesn't need any assistance dismembering its keepers. The three vault hunters stand back, out of the splash zone, and watch it do its thing.

"...Man, now I wish you had brought popcorn," Maya remarks between Hyperion screams and the sound of snapping bones.

"Next time," Salvador says with a shrug.

"Let's hope there is a next time." Given the extreme lack of combat they've encountered on this mission, Zer0 has been shockingly patient. Usually they prefer to participate in any violent dismemberment that's happening around them, so this job hasn't exactly been ideal for them. Watching the show must be interesting enough on its own to hold the assassin's interest for so long. Still, it's a surprise that they'd be down to do this again.

"Yeah..." Maya agrees. "Though preferably without anyone's pet dying, first."

Zer0 nods, and Salvador grunts in agreement.

The giant stalker triumphs over its tormentors, and makes its getaway. Once it disappears, Mordecai makes contact via the ECHO to let them know he's satisfied.

For now. 

"Well, that was...different." Now that it's over, Maya feels a bit let down. There wasn't even a little adrenaline rush once the creatures began to work.

"Now what? We gonna head back, or...?" Salvador doesn't sound particularly ready to head back.

"This was amusing, but I wanted to kill things. Who wants to join me?" Zer0 accompanies their statement with a ":T" emoji.

"Circle of Slaughter?" Salvador asks.

Zer0's ":T" flashes, and changes to a "<3".

"You wanna come too, Blue? The more the merrier!"

Maya doesn't really have to consider her answer. Shooting endless waves of bandits after the stress of coming back to this horrible place will be therapeutic. There's no time to think in the middle of Fink's arena - it's the perfect palate cleanser.

"Hell yeah. Let's go."


	34. 12c. Best Mother's Day Ever

_ECHO Log transcription:_  
FROM: Gaige  
TO: The Universe's Best Dad  
ATTACHMENT: meandmybuds.jpg 

Gaige: Hey, Dad, it's me, ya girl! I'm really sorry I haven't actually like, _told_ you what's been going on, but things have been super crazy since I got here and it never stops! But we've like, slowed down a _tiny_ bit so I wanted to finally let you know how I'm doing.

Gaige: Also, I finally got everyone to sit still for like, ten seconds all at the same time, which is probably the BIGGEST challenge I have faced yet, okay? So, yeah, check out the photo if you haven't already! I'm gonna tell you aaaaaall about them!

Gaige: So, the military hunk is Axton. I think he's like, twenty-six? He is my BEST BRO, holy skagsacks, you don't even know! He's like, the charming and goofy older brother I never had. He gives me sooooo much shit but I give it back so it all works out. He got kicked out of the Dahl Military for being a loose cannon or something, and I think it's kind of a sore spot mostly because, after Maya, in this group? He's the _least_ loose cannon. Tight cannon? Is that a thing? That sounds like a thing. A weird thing. Actually, wait, now that I think about it, maybe not. Let's not make it a thing. But anyway, I think he feels like everybody's dad sometimes, and that makes him kinda pissy, but he gets over it when I let him give me noogies. Totally consensual noogies that I absolutely one-hundred percent have a say in, every time, all the time, no questions asked! Because I'm nice like that!!

Gaige: ...Uh, seriously, though, he's my bro. Once we get this Handsome Jack situation handled, and, uh, once the Holloways calm their tits, I wanna bring him to meet you.

Gaige: Actually, for real, I want to bring _everyone_ to meet you.

Gaige: Okay, so like, Maya, it's just her and me in this sausage fest and she is like, _so friggin' cool!_ She's an honest-to-god _siren!_ The kind that can kill a man with their brain! Which she does a _lot!_ She grew up on Athenas in an abbey raised by a bunch of really lame-sounding monks who just wanted to exploit her for mad profit, and when she found out about it she straight up _killed_ the head monk and booked it to Pandora!

Gaige: Obviously she's like the big sister I never had. She looks super cool and calm and I guess she acts that way most of the time but she's secretly _super_ sweet. Well, maybe not sweet. Actually, scratch that, she's definitely not sweet. But like, she _cares_. Which, I mean, when you think about how she was raised, and what the men who raised her were like...that's _incredible_. She's totally the boss of this crew of losers, except maybe I shouldn't call us losers because there's _no way_ she'd be the boss of a crew of losers but what I _mean_ is, I love everyone _so friggin much_ and everyone is just amazing. They're _my_ losers.

Gaige: Even though we're totally gonna be winners!

Gaige: Zer0's the ninja-looking helmeted, uh, person. Also it's spelled Zer0 with a zero at the end instead of an O. We dunno if they even have a gender or if they're even like, a flesh-person, and honestly no one really wants to ask, but it's also like, whatever, because either way they're super cool. Also they're a super nerd, like, _legit_. They talk in haikus, and they have a ninja sword, and I think throwing stars? They can go invisible and they have a decoy that _looks_ like a decoy but somehow it totally fools the bandits around here _every time_ and it is hi-_larious_.

Gaige: Also, they know a lot of media from Old Earth, like real niche stuff that was nerdy even way back when. They work it into their haikus, and basically everything they do is just, super next level. They're a _huge_ dork. I think they're some kind of professional intergalactic assassin, because they're _really_ good at sniping and stabbing - not like, at the same time, unless there's a gun around here that fires tiny knives instead of bullets. Oh, man, that would be _so_ awesome. I hope we find a knife-bullet gun! I want to watch Zer0 snipe with something like that!

Gaige: Shit, I'm getting off track. Okay okay okay. Next!

Gaige: Salvador's the guy with the beard. He's Pandoran, born and raised, and he's like, a crazy party uncle! He's like the guy who'll do really stupid shit with you, but also patch you up when the stupid shit you do together blows up in your face. He's way more loose cannon than Axton, but they're super buds anyway. He's an honest-to-god berserker, only with guns. He's a gunzerker! He dual-wields guns! Any two guns! He's done two rocket launchers before, and that's _nuts_ because even the least heavy launchers are still super heavy! But I mean, you can see his arms - they're bigger than my _head!_ \- so launchers probably aren't heavy for him. 

Gaige: Oh, yeah, and he's always competing with Deathtrap, and he wins about half the time, but that's fine, because oooooh man, I've been able to make some _sick_ mods and improvements to my buddy since I started running with these guys. I'll try to remember to take a video sometime so you can see!

Gaige: And Krieg's the shirtless guy in the mask! Pandora's full of psychos, and for a long time we thought he was just one, too, but like, a _special_ one? Because he's never tried to kill any of us even once, and usually when you meet a psycho that's what they do. Murder is like a psycho handshake, I guess. But Krieg doesn't roll like that! He only kills the dudes the rest of us are trying to kill.

Gaige: He's hard to understand sometimes and he knows a _lot_ of fancy words, which I'm pretty sure he even uses right? Even though the stuff he says is mostly nonsense. But like, _god_, he's saved my life probably a thousand times by now! He's definitely the crazy party uncle part two. Maya thinks he has something called Dissociative Identity Disorder but she's not sure because I guess it's kinda hard to diagnose and also she's not a doctor. But she showed me the medical journals she read and it makes a lot of sense! Oh, yeah! Speaking of psychos, and why he's not just like, an average one, we just found out recently that Handsome Jackass used him for his super gross and unethical slag experiments, and that's almost definitely why his brain's all messed up. But he managed to get away! So we're taking care of him now, and he's doing super great!

Maya: Hey, Gaige! We're heading out to take care of this Taggart thing. You coming?

Gaige: Oh, shit, yeah! I'll be right there!

Gaige: ...Oh, no, I just spent the whole time telling you about my badass buds and totally ran out of time to update you on what we're like, actually _doing._ My bad! I'll do it next time, I swear!

Gaige: I love you!

Gaige: Gaige, out!

_End of ECHO Log transcript_


	35. 12d. Clan War: End of the Rainbow

Gaige is still riding high from what she considers a successful driving lesson the other day. Axton has repeatedly questioned her definition of the word "successful", but she'd had a good time and Krieg'd had a blast, so Axton is outvoted two to one.

The Hodunks have hired the vault hunters to strike back at the Zafords. Their task is to hit them where it hurts - right in their family bank account.

There is, sadly, no driving involved in this particular heist.

She's joined Maya and Krieg in the Holy Spirits bar in Overlook. None of them are exactly sure why the Hodunks had instructed them to find a conspicuously-placed ECHO recorder containing their instructions instead of just, like, _giving_ them their instructions during their initial meeting out in the Dust, but, well, whatever. Once they pick up the ECHO, they're conveniently placed to immediately follow the Zaford's bagman down into the family vault.

"...Well, damn. If I'd known we were going to be following someone, I would've brought Zer0." Maya's remark is conversational; she doesn't seem to be particularly annoyed that their team makeup for this mission is less than ideal.

"Well, it could be worse. We could have brought Salvador," Gaige points out.

"The meat man can be quiet when the prize is right!" Krieg is probably the closest to sounding offended as Gaige has ever heard him.

"We know _you_ can, buddy." She places a hand on Krieg's bicep, because that's a more comfortable reach for her than his shoulder. "That's why we're glad Sally isn't here."

Although the big psycho and the stout gunzerker have a lot of personality traits in common, there are plenty of significant differences between them. For one thing, Salvador has a much better handle on his emotions than Krieg. Alternatively, Krieg is - somehow - much more adept at _subtlety_ than Sal. At least in analytical situations where emotions don't have a lot of play. He may get a huge kick out of disrupting Zer0's stealth attempts from time to time, but he's also pretty good at participating in the stealth...with the right motivation.

"What's the prize this time?" Maya is curious, because there are a lot of motivating factors in this situation, and it's always interesting to learn what motivates Krieg. Sometimes it's loot, and sometimes it's something else.

He doesn't have to pause to think about his response to this question, as he does sometimes. "I wanna hear the magnanimous mechanic laugh!"

So he's doing it for Ellie. Gaige really likes how much Krieg likes helping people. And, judging from the smile the siren gives the psycho for that response, so does Maya.

"Good enough for me," she says, glancing from Krieg to Gaige. "Are you two ready?"

"Hell yeah, let's go!"

"Mnnyesyesyesyesyes!"

Following the Zaford bagman is easy - the little man talks loudly to himself the entire time, so staying far enough back to avoid detection is a cakewalk.

...Not that they'd really needed to follow him, Gaige realizes. Once they'd dropped out of the Zaford's basement into the cave system beneath, it's a straight shot to the family cash stash. There's literally no way to get lost.

Three against one is hardly a fair fight, but nobody plays fair on Pandora and the vault hunters are no exception. Still, it makes Gaige feel kind of gross if she thinks about it for too long - this weird little man was just minding his own business, and not hurting anybody before they ambushed him. It's a little too relatable for the formerly bullied mechromancer. Telling herself that he was probably a shitty person doesn't help much, either. She doesn't know that for sure, and he hadn't done anything to her or to her friends.

But, just like Krieg, Gaige is doing this for Ellie. Nobody she's met so far on Pandora has _good_ morals, and plenty of people don't possess any morals at all, but Ellie is easily one of the best of a bad lot. She grew up here just like Salvador, so she knows Pandora and the people on it better than Gaige or any of the others.

...And, considering the direction of the average Pandoran's moral compass, it seems like a minor miracle that Ellie and Sal turned out as good as they did. Moxxi undoubtedly had a lot of influence on Ellie. Likewise, the woman who raised Salvador to be the man that he is must be an incredible person, and Gaige really hopes she can meet his _abuela_ one day.

"Hey, guys...is it just me, or did that feel...kinda bad?" Maybe it's not the best question to be asking while the three are in the middle of looting significant fat stacks of cash, but if she doesn't ask it now, she might forget later.

"Yeah, it...wasn't great," Maya agrees. Moral dilemma aside, neither she nor Gaige slow or pause in their looting efforts. If they're going to feel badly about this, they can do it later just as easily as they can do it now.

"The midnight eagle wouldn't ask if it was bad!" Krieg answers her question too, after a long, thoughtful pause. It takes a moment for Gaige to realize "the midnight eagle" is Ellie. She's close enough with Krieg by now she's definitely sure the big man does have some kind of a moral code, but he also always seems to defer morality calls to the people around him.

With that said, though, it _does_ make Gaige feel a little better to know Krieg thinks the same thing about Ellie, too.

"That is a fair point. She does know these families better than we do," Maya admits.

"I guess. I'll just try not to think about it."

"Mmm...well..." Maya seems hesitant to let it go at that. "Maybe, try not to _worry_ about it too much? I mean, definitely don't lose any sleep over it, but, mmmmn...ugh." She trails off, clearly not sure how to say what she's trying to convey.

"Mnnghh...Remember the bad feels to keep your head on right, but don't go swimming in them!" Somehow Krieg seems to know what Maya had been trying to say.

"Uh, yeah. Basically." The small smile Maya turns on Krieg makes Gaige grin. Instead of remarking on _that_, though, she focuses on the big man.

"You're a good dude, Krieg."

"Mnahahaha! No, _you!_"

Gaige draws herself up to her full height in mock indignation. "Wow! How _dare_ you say something so slanderous and untrue about me? I'm the literal _worst,_ okay??"

Her false outrage makes Krieg laugh even more. "You're wrooo~ong!" His rough voice is completely unsuitable for crooning singsong, but he does it anyway. It's the sort of sound that would be entirely unnerving to anyone who didn't know him as well as Gaige and Maya have come to.

"Nope! It's true! I'm the worst!"

"You wanna fight me for it, Red?"

"Ladies, ladies," Maya interrupts the good-natured argument before it can go _too_ far - mostly because Gaige will absolutely take Krieg up on his offer, and the middle of the Zaford vault is not the place for a friendly duel. "You're _both_ pretty."

This interruption causes Krieg to laugh again, and he puts his whole body into it. His loud, raucous laughter is infectious and quickly has Gaige giggling, too. Even Maya grins at the sound, although that is the extent of her visible amusement.

"Are you two ready to head back? I'm pretty sure there's nothing left to loot in here."

"Yeah, let's go." Gaige recovers from her giggles first, and gives Krieg a friendly punch in the arm. "I'm tired of walking, meat man! Piggyback me!"

Of course Krieg obliges, once his own giggles finally die away. Heist accomplished, the three vault hunters leave the vault the way they came in...which seems hugely incriminating in and of itself, but somehow no one in the Lucky Spirits seems to notice.

Once they get back to Sanctuary, Gaige does her best to take Krieg's advice, and mostly succeeds.

At the very least, she does manage to sleep that night with no problems. And tomorrow will probably be better.


	36. 12e. Safe and Sound

"What do you guys think he keeps in there that's important enough to send us to this fart cave?" Gaige is, as usual, the first to remark on the ambient stink of their new surroundings.

"I'm not sure I want to know, honestly." The distaste in Maya's voice is clear, although whether it's caused by the noxious chemical smell at the bottom of the Sanctuary Hole or by the thought of whatever it is Marcus cherishes enough to keep locked up in a safe is unclear.

It's likely both.

"It's probably something lame, like socks or, I dunno, empty beer cans." Salvador seems unaffected by the smell of the place, but interested in the question Gaige posed.

"Who collects empty beer cans?" Axton's tone is dubious.

"I dunno, I'm just spitballing! This is Marcus we're talking about."

"Yeah, okay, fair." Axton shrugs. "But it's gotta be something more valuable than a bunch of empty cans."

"There's no ten cent deposit on Pandora!" Krieg chimes in with one of his many nuggets of mystery wisdom.

"Whatever that means." Instead of shrugging, Zer0 flashes a ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ emoji in front of their face plate. "Perhaps we can play a game," they continue. "Guess what's in the chest."

"Huh. Sure, okay," Maya is down to play.

"Is there a prize for guessing right?" Salvador is also down, but the question still needs to be asked. Prizes are important, after all.

Zer0 actually does physically shrug, this time. "Winner gets to brag." They don't know about the rest of the vault hunters, but Zer0 doesn't have anything they particularly wish to give out as a prize. As far as they're concerned, it's just an amusing way to pass the time between squishing a million baby varkids.

"Eh, that's good enough for me." Sal can work with that. 

"First person to guess titty mags loses!" Gaige exclaims loudly.

"Why?" That makes no sense to Axton.

"Because it's too obvious!"

"And boring," Maya adds. "I want to hear creative guesses."

"Awww, yeah! You got me, girl!" Gaige's face lights up with a grateful grin.

"Hell yeah I got you." The smile Maya returns is much more reserved, but it's warm and conspiratorial nonetheless.

"Fine! No titty mags. So, what's in the box?" Axton doesn't particularly mind the rule, honestly. Like Maya, he wants to hear what this team of goofballs is going to guess.

The game commences, with the vault hunters taking turns throwing out ideas around the sound of gunfire and dying varkid screams.

"I think it's full of toenails!" Is Salvador's first guess.

"With the toes still attached!" Krieg helpfully adds.

"Haha, yeah! Gross! I like it!" Sal grins and high-fives the big man between varkid murders.

"I bet it's full of empty prescription bottles! Old people never throw stuff like that away!" Gaige says.

"Wow, 'old people'? Who're you calling old?" Axton is mock offended, just for the sake of being mock offended.

"Marcus."

"Yo. Fair."

"Maybe it's full of old beard hair trimmings," Maya suggests.

"Why would he save that?" Salvador, the only bearded person present, is confused.

"No idea. One of the monks at the abbey kept all of his shavings in a box. It was super gross."

"_Barf!_" Gaige is in agreement.

"Maybe it's a prized bottle of vodka from the Motherland," Axton suggests.

"Or perhaps the chest / is filled with a collection / of varkid bodies."

"Is Marcus a trophy guy? That seems more like something Sir Hammerlock would keep in a chest." Gaige's question is thoughtful, rather than outright dismissive.

Axton has an easy solution: "It's full of vodka _and_ varkids, and he drinks the vodka out of the carapaces!"

"Wait wait wait, is it vodka, or the tears of the innocent?" Maya suggests.

"Oh, shit, yeah, you're right, it's definitely full of bottled tears!" Axton likes this spin even better than the vodka.

"It's either tears or it's his human compassion, bottled and sealed in an unbreakable jar," Maya concludes.

"_Por qué no los dos?_"

"Hah, they do go pretty well together, don't they?"

"But he said it's his most _precious_ treasure. We all know what Marcus thinks of compassion." Gaige pauses thoughtfully, then adds: "It could still be tears, though."

"A collection of Old Earth Cold War documentaries!"

There's a long stretch where none of the vault hunters say anything as they obliterate the local varkid population. Gaige is the first to speak up.

"...Krieg, what?"

"What the heck's a 'cold war?'" Axton sounds puzzled.

The look Maya gives Krieg is intrigued. She feels like she should expect this by now, but somehow he still manages to surprise her. "It's ancient history," she clarifies for the rest.

"Do you guys think Marcus cares about ancient history?" Salvador doesn't sound convinced.

"Doubtful." Maya is also not convinced.

"What if it's something really embarrassing, like a huge collection of teenie bopper pop albums?" Gaige suggests.

"Or ladies' underwear?" Axton counters. Gaige looks over at him with narrowed eyes.

"That's kinda like porn - you're on thin ice here, buddy."

"What, even if he wears them?" Axton waggles his eyebrows at her with an expectant smirk.

Maya and Gaige groan simultaneously in disgust as they receive that unwanted mental image. The sound is a fine counterpoint to Axton, Krieg, and Salvador's asshole laughter. Zer0 refrains from commenting but does flash another shrug emote.

"Perhaps it's just guns," they suggest, in an effort to move the rest of the team past Axton's abhorrent guess.

"Maybe it's like, his _first_ gun," Gaige is eager to seize on this idea, if only as a distraction.

"Or his first bill of sale," Maya adds, also impatient to move on.

"Maybe it's just old vending machine parts." Salvador is a good sport, recovering from his mirth to help out.

"Is that 'precious?"' Gaige asks.

Salvador shrugs. "Who knows. You've met Marcus." 

"It's filled with a hundred pounds of human teeth!" Krieg's second guess is a lot more gristly than his first. It's also a lot easier to picture.

"Hah, yeah!" Gaige is down with that. "Mixed together with a hundred pounds of loose glitter!"

"That's weird!" Krieg sounds delighted.

"I know!" she meets his eye and grins her thousand-watt grin.

The guessing game continues more or less uninterrupted as they cross a corrosive lake of foul-smelling, glowing green slime ("Every pair of shoes he's ever owned!" "A giant rubber band ball!" "A porcelain tea set!"), through a short network of caves ("Recipes from Mother Marcus!" "The password to his secret gun stash," "Trading cards from a children's TCG that are gonna make him rich one day!"), and down into a wide, flat area at the edge of a sea of slime.

A massive crystalisk lives here, and once they kill it and its brethren, it drops Marcus' precious chest, and the vault hunters finally get to see how close they got.

Inside the chest is a collection of glossy pinup photos...of one very familiar bosom.

"Hah! It _was_ titty mags!" Axton practically crows.

"This isn't titty mags, it's _Moxxi,_" Gaige corrects him.

"I don't know about you all, but I don't feel right giving these to Marcus." Maya has picked up the photos and is shuffling through them with a frown. "We should give them back to Moxx."

"What's the problem? She's the one with the tits, she can just take more pics if she needs 'em." Axton doesn't understand Maya's hesitation.

"Uh, have you _met_ Marcus? The guy's a scumbag. Unlike Moxxi, who actually cares about us."

"Eh, I guess…"

"Can we talk about it on the way back? I'm never gonna get this stink outta my clothes if we stay here much longer." Gaige is impatient to get going now that they've got the goods. Maya agrees.

"But what about the gun Marcus was gonna give us?" Axton's not quite ready to let up on this, if only because he wants to reap _some_ kind of reward for this effort.

"I bet Moxxi'd be willing to give us something for these," Maya counters. "It can't hurt to ask, right?"

That basically appeases Axton. "Yeah, you're right. We'll ask her first."

Moxxi, it turns out, is more than happy to exchange a gun for the photos, so in the end, everyone is happy.

Except Marcus. So _almost_ everybody.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man it's not easy to write dialogue for six people at once.


	37. 13. The Once and Future Slab

Once the Hyperion Death Wall is breached, the next step in Angel's impossible set of tasks is to get past the defenses to the bunker where she and the vault key are housed. In order to do that, Roland expects the vault hunters will need backup, so he sends them to Thousand Cuts to call in an IOU from someone called the Slab King.

"We've had our differences in the past, but he's a decent guy. You six should get along great."

Thousand Cuts is _flush_ with bandits. They come at the vault hunters from all sides, emerging from countless cobbled-together shacks to push the attack. Krieg and Salvador have the time of their lives, as always. Between the psycho word salad and the energetic gunzerking, it's almost impossible to hear the bandits over the noise of the crew's two loudest loud boys.

That isn't to say that the others don't have fun, because they do. Zer0 races all of the others for kill-stealing headshots, while Gaige and Axton have a good time tag-teaming to thwart them. And any time the team gets into a firefight is awesome for Maya, who's always eager for a chance to refine and hone her powers.

There is a lot of ground to cover between the entrance to the Slab camp and the Slab King's stronghold, and a lot of bandits to burn through. Quite literally, in Krieg's case. He's graduated from simply breathing fire to manifesting fireballs, and the amount of time he spends voluntarily on fire would be concerning if it weren't...well, _Krieg._

They leave an unusually large trail of bodies in their wake; the Slab gang is apparently a popular one, so there are a lot of bandits to take out. But it's not over when they finally reach their goal. After the Slab King first accuses them of belonging to Hyperion, he quickly corrects himself, mistaking them for new recruits, instead. Without waiting for any of them to say a word to the contrary, he unleashes the hoard on them.

To be fair, it's an easy mistake to make; three of the six vault hunters look like they'd be right at home in a bandit gang, and the other three...well, Pandora is full of colorful characters. A siren, a mechromancer, and an assassin might be _unlikely_ bandits, but clearly they're not outside the realm of possibility.

The Slab King's initiation into his gang is a riot and a blast. And at the end of it, when the vault hunters are the only ones left standing, the huge man rips off his helmet and leaps down from his elevated throne to congratulate the victors.

"That! Was! _Awesome!_"

Brick is over a head taller than Krieg, and his shoulders are twice as wide. He is, to put it succinctly, a brick shithouse of a man. 

Krieg is in awe.

Krieg's first glimpse of Maya was, at its core, love at first sight. Months of building a solid friendship with her have only improved his initial impression. The woman is his sun and his stars, and he would kill for her or die for her in a heartbeat. Honestly, he's done the former and attempted the latter probably a good hundred times each, by now. She definitely appreciates the killing. She does _not_ appreciate the almost dying.

Brick is admiration at first sight, instead of love. It's a subtle but significant difference. If Maya is wife goals, then Brick is life goals. The man could easily smash Krieg into a bloody pulp with one gigantic fist if he decided doing so was worth the effort, and Krieg is super into that.

But, after the performance they just pulled, the Slab King is more interested in helping the vault hunters than he is in smashing them, even without Roland calling in an owed favor. Handsome Jack choosing to use that particular moment to begin moonshotting loaders directly at the camp in an attempt to wipe them all out ("Seven bandits with one mortar assault!") merely seals the deal. The enemy of my enemy is my friend is true enough in this scenario, but Brick is clearly happy to be friends even without the common enemy.

The way he easily lifts a hammer that probably weighs as much as or more than Krieg does is admirable and enviable. Not that Krieg will be trading in his buzzaxe any time soon, but he can still admire other weapons of bludgeoning destruction even so.

The fight to get out of the camp is a lot different than the fight to get in. Krieg's homing fireballs are less effective on loaders than they are on flesh, but he lights himself up and sends them out, anyway. The more enemies on fire (or even electrocuted or corroded), the better he feels. It's a whole new combat high, and he wants to drink it in and drown in the endorphins.

With Brick smashing the shields to nothing, the vault hunters make short work of Handsome Jack's beacons. They clean up the few remaining loaders after the last one is destroyed, and eventually an unnatural sort of silence falls on the bandit town, which Brick quickly breaks.

"Well, heh-heh-heh... that was fun! Badass job today, Slabs. I'll meet ya back in Sanctuary."

The six teammates disperse once they exit Pierce Station, heading off to their own separate haunts. Krieg and Maya both have a few items they want to store, so they head to the HQ together to take care of that. Once upstairs, Krieg yanks open the heavy bank vault door so they can get their stash on. It's easy to overhear the reunion taking place in the other room; Brick has somehow made it back before them.

"Never thought I'd be back here. Last time we talked, you didn't sound too eager to see me again." Brick's voice is mildly accusatory. Which might not be a concern in and of itself, but coming from a man of his stature, even a mild accusation could be considered threatening.

Roland's response is wry. If he's worried about a threat, implied or not, it's not apparent in his voice. "Times changed. We need all the help we can get."

"Even from a bloodthirsty psychopath?" The accusation in Brick's voice is a tiny bit stronger. Krieg stills, tilting his head to one side to listen better.

"Who called you that? Jack?" Roland sounds surprised. At this point, Maya also pauses from managing her stash to listen.

"Nope. You did, three years ago." With that revelation, Maya's eyes flick over to Krieg. He notices her looking at him, and when he meets her gaze, she raises her eyebrows. This just took a turn.

"Oh." Roland sounds surprised, and his follow-up is sincere. "Sorry. It's good to have you back, Brick."

There are a lot of ways that could go, and when Maya tenses, so does Krieg. But Brick's reply to Roland is short and sweet and - maybe most importantly - forgiving. "Good to be back."

"Aaaaand kiss each other." That's Lilith, totally dissolving any remaining tension with an inappropriate but impeccably-timed command. Maya snorts, very quietly, and Krieg grins underneath his mask. With the atmosphere clearing in the other room, the two finish managing their equipment, and head back out. Maya has borrowed a new book from Ellie, and they're eager to read it together.


	38. 13a. Poetic License

When Scooter asks the vault hunters to help him in his latest romantic endeavor, Gaige and Salvador know what they have to do.

"Hey, Amigo! Come with us to Thousand Cuts! We're gonna help Scoots write a poem!"

"Yeah! And he even promised he wouldn't read it to us!"

Of course Krieg is down to hang out with his friends. He likes Thousand Cuts - there are a _lot_ of bandits to kill, and if Scooter's asked them to do something there, that means there's probably some good loot at the end of it all.

Or at the very least, an entertaining life lesson.

The trio make their way back to Slab Town. Gaige is curious about the crater-filled dead zone between the camp and the Hyperion death wall, so they wander in that direction first. In the middle of it all, Salvador spots a flower, and points it out to the other two. "Hey, that flower looks kinda inspirational, whaddya think?" 

They move closer, and Gaige snaps a photo.

"_Aw. A lone flower surrounded by blood 'n' stuff. I maybe could turn that into a symbol of... of like, flowers, or.. or birds... or... I-I got it!_"

When Scooter's ECHO transmission cuts out, Krieg tilts his head and stares down at the inspirational flower.

"When daisies pied and violets blue / and lady-smocks all silver-white / and cuckoo buds of yellow hue / do paint the meadows with delight.*"

"Krieg? What was _that?_" Gaige sounds shocked. Krieg's gaze twitches from the flower to the teen.

"What was what?"

"Uh, that _poem?_" She's gone from shocked to outraged, like, how dare he just rattle off something so _nice_ and not even acknowledge it? Krieg blinks at her and shrugs. 

"I'unno."

"Damn, Amigo, sounds like you could give Scooter some tips!" Salvador sounds impressed, and gives him a friendly slap on the back. Krieg blinks again, and laughs.

On their way back into the camp, Salvador spots the corpse of a man curled around the busted remains of a loader. That seems pretty poetic to him, so he tells Gaige to snap a photo.

"_Is that a bandit spoonin' with a robot? That is some artsy-fartsy bullcrap, my friend! Chicks LOVE that! That's goin' in the poem. Robots and sexy stuff!_"

Krieg crouches down to take a closer look at the scene. Wondering if they're about to be treated to another rhyming verse, Gaige crouches next to him, eyes on his masked face instead of the dead guy. She's not disappointed a moment later when the big man starts to mutter, his voice pitched low and missing pretty much all of the usual growl.

"If certain, when this life was out / that yours and mine should be / I’d toss it yonder like a rind / And taste eternity.**"

She doesn't know the dead man - and she's glad for that, based on what she can infer of him simply looking at where and how he had died - but Krieg's solemn recitation chokes her up for a moment.

Just for a moment, though, because that's as long as it takes for Salvador to speak up.

"Shit, man, that was deep."

"When do we get to the _killing?_" The growl and volume have returned to his voice, and Krieg stands up abruptly, clearly eager to move on.

"Aww, man, I think we did all the killing last time, Amigo," Salvador's commiseration is easy and sincere. Brick had warned that his slabs would still try to kill the vault hunters if they came back this way, but they had been _very_ thorough on their first pass. There might not be any left.

They make their way through the camp, taking the time to explore and loot that they hadn't on their initial search for Brick. No one bothers them as they investigate chests and strong boxes and various safes and containers. Gaige jumps when the ECHO crackles to life and Scooter interrupts loot time. She sees the titty mag in Krieg's hand just as the mechanic speaks up.

"_Woo-wee! I got the nudie mags! Worst case scenario, I still got somethin' to pass the time._"

Once the ECHO connection cuts, Gaige and Salvador exchange a look. She raises her eyebrows, and he shakes his head with a snort of laughter.

"This isn't gonna go any better than the Laney thing." Gaige isn't often 100% certain about anything, but she's definitely certain about this.

"Hah! It sure isn't. He probably knows it, too."

"Think our buddy here's got a better chance?"

"If he keeps dropping poetry like that? Probably. Maybe." Salvador tilts his head thoughtfully. "Does Blue even care about poetry?"

That actually gives Gaige pause. "You know...I don't know. But like, _I_ don't? Not really, anyway, but that thing with the flowers? And the eternity thing? That was like, some super classy stuff! Even I could appreciate that!"

"You want me to write you a poem, Pigtails?" Krieg's voice is a low, amused grumble. He drops one huge hand on her head to muss the aforesaid pigtails, and passes the porn rag to Salvador with the other. Gaige squawks indignantly, and Sal laughs as he tucks Scooter's backup plan into his storage deck.

"Uh, no? I think you should write some for _Maya._ I don't want flowery poetry from my fun party uncle, okay?"

"Heh - but I bet you wouldn't mind it from Professor Mustache." Salvador long ago adopted Krieg's nickname for Sir Hammerlock. He waggles his eyebrows and uses an elbow to give her a friendly dig in the ribs.

"What? _No!_" Gaige's voice is an octave higher than before, and cracks on the syllable of her denial. Her face is beet red. "I-I-I mean, okay, _yeah_, sure, if he were into it I'd be down but he doesn't swing that way so it'd just be _weird!_"

Salvador and Krieg both laugh, and Krieg wraps his arm around her and gives her a hug. When he lets her go Salvador gives her a friendly clap on the shoulder. They both lay off the teasing then, because even though they're assholes, they're not _jerks_.

Slab Town is littered with headstones, but it also has a dedicated graveyard, which really tells the trio more about Brick's character than anything else. Typical bandits barely respect the living, and have no use for the dead, except maybe as emergency rations. That Brick cares enough to set aside time and land for graves and burials is impressive.

Unfortunately for the dead man in the graveyard, there's no one left to remove his noose and set aside time and land for him.

"_Whoo, boy! That bandit hung hisself from his own tombstone! It's dark, it's depressin', I don't understand what I'm talkin' about. It's PERFECT! Puttin' that in the poem!_"

"That must've taken a lotta work," Salvador remarks, and Gaige and Krieg agree. Standing up, the man would have been much taller than the rock he'd hung himself from. Committing to death in this way must have been a point of pride. Or something. It's almost too bad they'll never know how or why he did it like that.

At this point, Gaige and Salvador would be disappointed if Krieg neglected to lay down a verse, and as they all stand around and ponder the means and method of this particular strangulation, the big man delivers:

"Exult O shores, and ring O bells! / But I with mournful tread / Walk the deck my Captain lies / Fallen cold and dead.***"

"Uh...that's. That's _not_ your captain, though...right?" Gaige is pretty sure she knows the answer but figures it can't hurt to check. Her question makes Krieg laugh his full-bodied, gut-busting laugh.

"Mnahahahahahahaha! No!"

"Man, never knew you had all these artsy words bangin' around in your skull, Amigo. You sure you're in the right line of work?"

"Mnnnghhh...! I would _kill_ for something to kill!"

"He's multi-faceted." Gaige grins at Salvador as Krieg stomps off deeper into the camp. Presumably to look for something to kill.

"Multi-what now?"

"Multi-faceted. Like a big, beautiful, meaty diamond."

Salvador's still not quite sure he gets it. "Eh...if you say so."

As luck would have it, they _do_ find some stray bandits to fight once across the large bridge that leads up to Brick's stronghold. When Krieg knocks the helmet off of one Goliath, Salvador is quick to spot and remove the helmet of a second.

"_Four G's on my guy!_" he shouts at Krieg.

"_You're on, Minigun!_" Krieg shouts back.

Cockfighting with Goliaths is dangerous, and Maya always rolls her eyes at them when they initiate the game where she can see, so Krieg and Salvador try to save it for when she's not there. She rarely gets mad; just disappointed, and by now both Salvador and Krieg find Maya's _disappointment_ to be far worse than her anger.

Sometimes it takes a little work to kite the Goliaths toward one another, but this time, the two notice and engage each other right away. All three vault hunters enjoy the show, and then enjoy the challenge of killing the cockfight winner. And after the dust settles, there's no hard feelings when Krieg slaps four grand into Salvador's waiting palm. 

It's about then that Scooter ECHOs to let them know he's completed his poem and to instruct them to come on back. He's not finished with the vault hunters' assistance quite yet, however, and has one final task for them: Deliver his poem to Daisy.

So they take the ECHO recording he's made, and do as he asks.

Scooter's poem is received, in a word, poorly.

"Wow...I knew it was gonna be _bad_, but was it really bad enough to kill herself?" Gaige is shocked.

"Eh, she probably knows something we don't. Uh. Knew." Salvador isn't particularly surprised. This is pretty standard for Pandora.

"Pffff! I could _puke_ a better poem!" Krieg is unusually derisive - maybe somewhere deep underneath the layers of slag and PTSD is a nerdy lit scholar, dying to break free. 

"Why're you puking poetry?" Maya has joined them outside the late Daisy's front door, just in time to hear Krieg's proclamation. Gaige and Salvador exchange glances, matching grins forming on their respective faces.

"She ate a bullet to get away from the painful verse!" Krieg responds, turning his whole body to face her. Maya has just enough time to tilt her head curiously before he goes right on to recite:

"The siren sings a scarlet song / Filled with fire, slag and blight / Her storm-grey eyes shine eerily / And glow with ghostly light.

"Together she / Fights next to me / Back-to-back or side-by-side / Her tattoos glow and herald / A bloody crimson tide.

"The siren sings a scarlet song / Filled with fire, slag and pain / My best friend is incredible / And could kill me with her brain!"

"Oh," Maya's expression is indescribable. She looks like she can't decide whether she's feeling shocked, touched, flattered, or weirded out. "Did you just...do that on the spot?"

Krieg, in contrast to Maya, looks absolutely giddy. Or as giddy as anyone wearing a full, face-covering mask can look. His body-language is loud and clear, though, and they can all hear the grin in his voice when he says, "Yeah!"

"_Please_ tell me you recorded that, Red." Salvador is straight-up impressed.

Gaige scoffs. "Who do you think you're talking to, an amateur? Of _course_ I recorded it!"

"...Make me a copy, would you?" Maya still looks like she's not sure how she feels, but overall she seems to be leaning toward _flattered._

Gaige grins delightedly. "You got it!"

The four are interrupted by Scooter, who hits up their ECHOs to ask how his poem was received. Once again, Gaige and Salvador exchange a glance.

"Uhh...We'll just. Go tell him how that went. See you two later!" Gaige says, giving Krieg and Maya a cheery wave.

"_Adios_, amigos - see ya!" Salvador gives Maya a little salute and winks at Krieg. He and Gaige don't linger, but Maya does spot them sharing a high five right before they disappear out of sight into Scooter's garage.

"Well, that was weird," she remarks to Krieg, who agrees with an amused-sounding snort of laughter and a shrug of his broad shoulders. "Did you have fun in Thousand Cuts?"

"Yeah! But I lost a cockfight to Minigun."

"Goliath baiting again?" Maya heaves an exaggerated sigh, but she's not particularly bothered. She prefers to hear about Goliath fights after the fact, rather than witnessing them as they happen. It saves on a lot of worry this way.

"He started it!" Krieg sounds indignant, and Maya laughs and hooks her arm through his.

"I believe you, big guy."

* * *

*Love’s Labours Lost; Shakespeare  
**If You Were Coming in the Fall; Dickinson  
***O Captain My Captain; Whitman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a shame and a crime that Krieg's Raving Retribution rants were patched out of the game. Maybe I took too many liberties with the poetry in this chapter but, you know what? Poetic license, yo.


	39. 13b. The Overlooked

Back at the abbey, Maya had occasionally wondered what it would be like to have friends. It would have been impossible not to, for although most of her reading hours had been spent studying - history, science, politics, philosophy - she had also made time to settle in and enjoy some good old-fashioned fiction. There had been grand stories of adventure and companionship, quiet stories of love and friendship, heart wrenching stories of sorrow and loss. Before she had come to Pandora, all of her exposure to these very human experiences had come from the pages of a book.

What was it like really like to have a close friend? To have close _friends?_ A soul-mate? The books had given her an academic idea, but the actual, lived experience of these things is far more rewarding than she would ever have guessed.

She has five close friends now, and several more people she thinks of as good friends, and out of all of them, she likes spending time with Krieg the best.

Neither of them are very good at conversing. If the vault hunters aren't planning how to take on the next mission or discussing some necessity or another, Maya doesn't have a lot to talk about. Sometimes long silences can stretch awkwardly with the others, but they never do with Krieg. His presence is both comfortable and comforting. Not that she needs a whole lot of the latter, but _comfort_ is in short supply on Pandora, so she will absolutely take it where she can get it. Incidentally, she knows that he finds _her_ presence to be comforting. She's never been a comfort to anyone before. She really likes the feeling of being helpful to someone in that way, especially someone who has become so important to her.

_My best friend is incredible / And could kill me with her brain!_

The way his spontaneous poem begins had troubled her when he'd recited it. It's too much like idolatry for her tastes, too close to worship. She'd come to Pandora to get _away_ from being worshipped, not to find a following. But the final two lines had reassured her, and continue to do so. She's never been someone's best friend before, and she likes being his best friend much better than being a goddess. On top of that, the whole _can kill a man with her brain_ thing she's got going on doesn't intimidate him at all. He's _into_ it.

And, maybe weirdly, she likes that, too.

Maya cherishes loud time together with Krieg just as much as she does quiet time. Striding into combat together is a whole different thing than leaning on one another while they share a book, and the adrenaline rush she gets when he starts laughing his loud, manic laughter is a high like nothing else. She doesn't always know what he'll do next when the bullets start flying, but reading his tells becomes easier every day. He's generally simple and straightforward, and understanding his body language is generally simple and straightforward, too. The set of his shoulders, or which gun he's decided to use, or the tone of his voice when he shouts and taunts their mutual foes all broadcast his intentions. Those things, apart or together, are plenty to afford her an educated guess. And when she guesses, she's usually right.

Fighting alongside Krieg feels like a dance - a dance that's much more complex and visceral than the dancing they'd done at Claptrap's party. Her strengths overlap his weaknesses, and vice-versa. They compliment each other perfectly in the middle of combat; her agility alongside his brute strength confounds even the toughest opponents. They never have to discuss who's following whose lead; it just comes naturally. Usually it's her lead by default, but they can and do switch it up on a moment's notice when the situation dictates. She lives for the moments where their teamwork synchronizes, and the results of their combined efforts are far more spectacular than anything either of them could have done on their own. It's satisfying in a way she's never known before, and the more often they can pull it off together, the happier she is. 

And it's not just her - she knows it drives him, too. Whenever their teamwork results in that visceral satisfaction, either she'll catch his eye or he'll catch hers, and the subsequent eye contact between them is electric. She wouldn't trade that connection for anything.

"There's no barbeque till _I_ say there's a barbeque!" Krieg sounds over the moon. He barely has to raise his voice over the screams of Hyperion personnel burning alive - there are only a handful left, and between the efforts of the psycho and the siren, they're _all_ on fire. Krieg's fire affinity seems to grow more powerful and effective by the day - just like Maya's. They are truly a matched pair of pyromaniacs, setting the world on fire one bandit at a time.

"You know I'm not gonna argue with that, big guy." Maya grins at him and raises a fist. He cackles with laughter and bumps her knuckles with his, high on adrenaline, endorphins, and the odor of burning flesh. "Do you want to finish them off?" she asks.

"You can't stop me!" He holsters his assault rifle, takes up his axe, and leaps back in to finish off the dying.

Krieg is an artist. His axe is his brush, Pandora his canvas, and their enemies, his media. Watching him wield his buzzaxe is cathartic and exciting, all at once. Occasionally, as they get down to the last two or three stragglers in a camp, she'll switch from aiming for critical hits to aiming for crippling ones, just so she can observe as he finishes them off. Sometimes she wonders at her own bloodthirst. Surely it's not normal to take so much satisfaction in watching someone dismember someone else limb from limb? Though she knows the men they fight would do the same to her or to him in a heartbeat if their positions were reversed. Does that context make it any more acceptable? 

Maybe, maybe not. It probably doesn't matter. In a kill-or-be-killed world, there's no question which she'd rather do.

And there's no one she'd rather do it with.


	40. 13c. Rocko's Modern Strife

The sharpie markers Krieg had received from Tina have gotten a decent amount of use. He likes the process of drawing. It gives him something to focus on in his down time - a way to direct his attention and all of his seemingly endless energy into something...constructive.

He's not used to being constructive. He's used to being destructive. Because destruction is what monsters do. It's rare now that he remembers the truth of his reality, that he's just a monster existing somewhere he shouldn't be, surrounded by people who really care for him, living a life he doesn't deserve. Somehow, impossibly, he's found friends, and happiness, and a purpose. His self-flagellation doesn't extend beyond his masochistic pursuit of physical pain. Now that he has them he's unable to deprive himself of these emotional connections, even though he knows he should. Krieg would run a thousand miles on a broken leg and with a sucking chest wound without complaint, but the moment things start to look like they're going to ping a negative emotion that might trigger a memory, he shuts down.

That's why he still suppresses his memories from the time before he met Maya. He doesn't know what's in there - which is the point - and he knows if he lets himself remember, it will _hurt_. He has to be vigilant for any tiny cracks in his carefully manufactured mental dam. If he neglects a single leak and allows it to go by unchallenged, the dam will burst wide open and he won't be able to make it stop.

It's what the voice in his head wants, more than anything. To crack the dam, to let the memories out, to go back to who they used to be. But Krieg refuses to let the little man have it. If the dam breaks, Krieg thinks he might drown in the resulting flood and cease to exist. Not that death would be so bad, but stubbornly refusing to budge on this has nothing to do with anything like a fear of death. When the time comes, Krieg will welcome death with open arms. But it has to be on _his_ terms. The little man couldn't handle the slag, couldn't cope with the fire that lit up every single nerve ending in his entire body for days or weeks or months on end. When the experiments didn't kill him no matter how often or how hard he'd wished they would, he'd run away and had left Krieg in his place to deal with the endless agony. Why should Krieg let him have anything back after the little man had used him as an emotional meat shield? The only reason they have anything good now is because _Krieg_ had endured what the little man would not.

"If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen," he mutters as he carefully and deliberately connects one heavy magenta line to another on the sawblade he's graffiti'ing.

"Hey, Slab! What'cha doin'?"

Krieg looks up sharply when Brick speaks, startled by his presence but pleased by the question. He has a handful of his sawblades spread out in a messy pile on the table in the Crimson Raiders command center, along with a handful of colorful permanent markers. He picks up new sawblades often, and every few days he likes to take some time to decorate them.

"Arts and Crafts!" He answers the Slab King's question enthusiastically, and shoves his latest masterpiece across the table for Brick to inspect.

"Oh, yeah?" Curious, the huge man picks up the sawblade and peers at it, turning it over in his hands to check out both sides. It's one of Krieg's Scream Sickle mods, and he's drawn three colorful popsicles on it. "Hey, this is really good! What else you got?"

Krieg shows him a Blister mod and a Torch mod, which Brick declares to be "awesome!" and "badass!", respectively.

"You know what you need? A _Slab_ mod!"

Krieg's eyes go wide. He grins under his mask, and he shoves one of his plain saw blades and half of the markers across the table at Brick.

"Yes yesyesyesyesyes!"

Brick grins too, pleased at the reception of his suggestion, and sits down across from Krieg to do the thing. He selects the black sharpie, uncaps it, and bends carefully over the small canvas. Krieg watches intently, fidgeting excitedly as Brick tags the metal with the Slab gang's brass-knuckled fist.

"There you go, Slab," Brick finishes enscribing both sides of the blade and pushes it back across the table at Krieg. "Now everyone'll know I'm proud to call you Slab!"

Krieg is over the moon. "Burn me with this one when I die!" He unhooks the sawblade currently attached to his belt and replaces it with the one Brick just made. Brick looks delighted.

"This is fun! Can I do another one?"

"Yeah! Do it!" Krieg passes over another blank sawblade for Brick to tag. The two giant men bend over their respective projects with enough earnest determination to make any kindergarten teacher proud. Or, failing that, their efforts would at least make Tiny Tina proud.

Tina already knows her marker gift has been put to good use. Despite his protest that he wouldn't make anything worth looking at, he had done his assigned homework. Tina had been more than pleased, and now whenever Krieg visits her she always checks out the current masterpiece hooked to his belt. There's no doubt she'll be doubly excited to see his newest blade featuring work from a very special guest artist.

Krieg and Brick run out of sawblades well before they're ready to be finished drawing on them.

"Aww, man!" Brick is genuinely disappointed that there's nothing left to tag. "Lemme know when you get some more and we'll do this again."

"An encore for the sonorous sawblade symphony will marinate magnificently in the meat of my soul!"

Brick doesn't even blink at that proclamation. He just grins and offers a fist, which Krieg reaches across the table to bump.

"_Hell_ yeah! That's my Slab!"

Krieg laughs, loud and exultant. For once the sound of his mirth is completely devoid of its usual manic edge. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TFW Senpai notices you.


	41. 13d. Hell Hath No Fury

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took 50k words before I destroyed the PG-13 rating of this fic with a single chapter.
> 
> It's just f-bombs but I know f-bombs are touchy, so, like, there it is. So CW for f-bombs, I guess.
> 
> ETA 11/27: Whoops, that was some major HTML fail. The missing paragraph has been replaced.

Besides building the perfect Jack voice synthesizer, the vault hunters have a small laundry list of things to take care of for the folks back in Sanctuary while they're in Opportunity...just like usual.

Not that anybody minds, because the tasks are usually fun, and often involve explosions.

Moxxi has asked the vault hunters to destroy the building site of Handsome Jack's future Underdome rip-off. To this end, she has provided directions to the Hyperion demolitions supply shed, which contains an unspecified but likely prodigious amount of dynamite.

Blowing shit up is always a good time, but making their way through the massive city populated by Hyperion personnel and Loaders primed to attack them on sight is a bit of a slog.

"Hey, Sal!" Axton yells over the rattling of his Sabre turret as the team takes out the latest wave of stooges. "Fuck, marry, kill - Maya, Krieg, Zer0, go!"

"Axton? What?" is Maya's disbelieving response, which she says at the same time as Salvador's reply: "You wanna play that _here?_"

"Yeah! It'll liven things up!"

"They're already pretty lively, bro!" Gaige chimes in. As if to emphasize her point, Deathtrap uses its eye lasers to melt a fatal seam up the midsection of a loader bot.

"Hah!" Salvador laughs and shrugs, and calls out his choices between kills. "Fuck Maya - " _BLAM!_ " - Marry Krieg -" _BLAM!_ " - and kill Zer0."

"I cannot believe / you would betray me like this." Zer0 has stuck close to the group for once, instead of locating the best sniper perches, and introduces an engineer to their sword. "My heart is broken." To emphasize their broken heart, Zer0 flashes a red less-than-three heart with a slash through it at Salvador, who laughs loudly.

"Sorry, Amigo, I just don't like you like that!" The glowing red heart in front of Zer0's faceplate flashes and changes to a sad :'( face, and they remove their sword from the now deceased engineer's gut. Salvador notices, and modifies his mirth. "Aww, buddy, I'll make it up to you. Circle of Slaughter later?" The emoji changes again, this time to a happy :D. Just like that, all is forgiven.

"Again, I ask: _What?_" Maya is even more unsure about this than she had been before Salvador had announced his choices.

"You've never played Fuck Marry Kill?" Axton asks, and then immediately answers his own question. "...you wouldn't have, growing up with a bunch of monks, right, got it." He almost absently destroys a loader as it tries to close in on him. "It's a fun hypothetical party game! D'you want to know how it works?"

Instead of answering his question, Maya comes back with one of her own. "Is now really the best time for this?"

"Can you think of a better time?" Axton grins his most charming grin, and lets go of his assault rifle with one hand to gesture a quick finger gun at Maya.

Maya rolls her eyes, and phaselocks an engineer behind him that he apparently hadn't noticed. "Yeah, maybe at, I dunno, a quarter after never?"

"You next, broski!" Salvador interrupts the two to turn the question back on Axton, while also ventilating Maya's phaselock captive with a well-aimed spray of bullets. "Scooter, Moxxi, Ellie!"

"Aw, man, that's not even a contest, Sal!" Axton seems almost disappointed by the lineup the gunzerker picked for him. "Bed Moxx, marry Ellie, and kill Scoots, natch."

"That's gonna be one awkward wedding," Maya remarks.

"Hypothetically, yeah," Axton agrees easily, because, well, it's true. "Your turn, Blue: Fuck marry kill, Tannis, Lilith, Krieg."

"Marry Krieg, obviously." Maya rolls her eyes again. "But I don't want to screw or kill Tannis or Lilith."

"But you've got to choose! That's how the game works!" Gaige sounds outraged by Maya's refusal to play by the rules, even though the answer she did give makes her little shipper heart very happy.

"I abstain," Maya says with a shrug. "I like them best alive and un-fucked."

Axton blows a derisive raspberry over the sound of gunfire, screaming Hyperion personnel, and dying loaders. "Booooooring!"

"I'd apologize for disappointing you, but I'm not actually sorry."

"Fine!" Now it's Axton's turn to roll his eyes. "Zer0! You're up, buddy. Fuck marry kill, Mordecai, Marcus, aaaaaand Hammerlock, go!"

"Difficult options," Zer0 remarks. "I prefer all three alive / to give out side-quests."

"Yeah, that's why I picked them." Axton grins, clearly pleased with himself. Zer0 makes a thoughtful noise and flashes a set of red ellipses. 

"I suppose Marcus / would receive the killing blow. / He's kind of a jerk."

"Was that really such a tough choice?" Gaige asks, slightly skeptical. Zer0 flashes red text that reads, "LOL NO" before finishing the last of the attacking Hyperion engineers. With this particular area of Opportunity cleared out, the relative silence of the aftermath makes it easy to hear the rest of Zer0's thoughts.

"Fornication is / of little interest to me / but between the two / I guess I'd bed Mordecai / and I would wed Hammerlock."

"Why're you bedding the bird man?" Krieg had been off in his own little pocket of slaughter when Axton had begun the game, and has missed the context for Zer0's statements, as well as all of the previous rounds.

"It's fuck, marry, kill, Amigo!" Salvador explains. When Krieg turns his head sharply to look at him, Sal grins. "D'you know the rules?"

Krieg squints and tilts his head thoughtfully for a brief second.

_Why are they playing this NOW?_ If the little man could control their eyes, he'd be rolling them.

"Yeah," Krieg says aloud, to answer Salvador's question. He remembers the rules.

"Ohmygosh _yes!_ Krieg! It's your turn!" Gaige's enthusiasm for this would be suspect if she weren't always so enthusiastic. As it stands, though, this is just another regular day for the cheerful mechromancer.

"Hell, yes!" Axton is also down for this. "Brick, Ellie, Maya, go!" Axton and Gaige grin at each other. He just named three of Krieg's favorite people. It'll be interesting to see which role he assigns each.

Without the usual short delay for thought, Krieg declares, "I marry Blue." There's a sort of finality to that statement that only Maya immediately picks up on. While the other four are grinning at each other like assholes (even Zer0's getting in on it with an ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) emote), she smiles at Krieg, and starts walking toward their destination.

"Ready to blow up Jack's dam, big guy?" she asks. She bumps his arm with her shoulder as she passes him, and he immediately moves to walk beside her.

"Yeah!" He's much more enthusiastic about the dynamite in their near future than he was about the fun party game.

"Hey, now, wait a minute, what about the other two?" Axton is much less adept at reading Krieg's intonation than Maya, so he's still operating under the illusion that they're going to get two more answers.

Krieg turns his head briefly to look back at Axton. "I don't wanna kill or drill my friends."

"Yeah, Ax, Brick and Ellie can't come to the wedding if one of them is dead and the other one is jilted!" As far as Gaige is concerned, this is the best possible outcome. She might be the only one who doesn't mind that both Maya and Krieg refused to play it properly after saying they would marry each other.

"Come on, Nerdlet! It's not 'fuck, marry, kill' if you only say who you wanna marry! Even Zer0 played by the rules"

"Yes? And? What's your point?" Zer0 asks.

"Ugh! I can't believe you're all letting me down like this!" Axton heaves a dramatic sigh. The others had moved pretty quickly to follow Krieg and Maya, so he hurries to catch up.

"_I_ won't let you down, bro! I want my turn! Gimme some names!"

"Uhh..." Axton looks uncomfortably over at Gaige. He's belatedly realizing this whole game may have been a mistake, because he's not sure how he feels playing directly with someone he's come to regard as a younger sister. "Gaige, you're like, sixteen."

"_Wow_, rude? I'm _nineteen_, thank you very much!" Gaige huffs as she corrects him, crossing her arms.

"I'm not even one!" Krieg announces, apparently in solidarity. "Give her names!"

Axton turns his gaze from Gaige to Krieg. "Krieg, bro, sorry to break it to you, but you're _way_ older than one."

Since it looks like Axton is getting ready to dig in and argue semantics, Salvador speaks up. "I got'chu, Chica." He places a friendly hand on her shoulder. "Fuck marry kill: Hammerlock, Zed, and Axton."

"_Sal!_" Axton glares at the gunzerker, betrayal clear in his expression. Salvador grins his best shit-eating grin and waggles his eyebrows at Axton.

"Thank you, Sally," Gaige says sweetly. She places a hand over her heart, and delicately clears her throat. "Ahem! Well, obviously I can't fuck _or_ marry my big brother, since that would be _gross_, so I'm gonna have to give Ax the axe, sadly. Sorry, bro."

"It's fine," Axton says. His tone is that of a man who has some serious regrets, but also of a man who's feeling weirdly relieved. "Honestly, it's preferred."

"Hammerlock and Zed, huh?" Gaige looks thoughtful. By now her admiration of silver foxes is well known among all the vault hunters, so Salvador's actually given her a bit of a challenge with this one.

"Hmm...I think I'd sleep with Zed and marry Hammerlock. I'm pretty sure Zed swings both ways so it shouldn't be weird. Then me and Hammerlock could get a nice cozy place somewhere and live it up Victorian-style, with separate bedrooms and extra-marital affairs."

Salvador laughs loudly and claps Gaige on the back, causing her to stumble. She grins as Zer0 offers a hand to steady her, and smirks when she sees them flash the letters "LOL".

"There, see? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Salvador drops back to walk even with Axton, and to give him a friendly elbow in the ribs. Axton has to admit that no, it actually wasn't.

"So have you learned your lesson about starting up weird bullshit before considering the consequences?" Maya asks from up ahead.

"...No." is Axton's final reply.

Salvador and Krieg laugh uproariously while Gaige giggles and Zer0 snickers.

At this point, any other answer to that question would have been concerning. Maya doesn't laugh, but she does smile.


	42. 14. The Man Who Would Be Jack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fact that Dameon Clarke never did any of Krieg's lines in Jack's voice is a crime and the missed opportunity kills me to this day.

The final piece to solve the Control Core Puzzle is counterfeiting Jack's voice. Angel guides the vault hunters through Opportunity to collect audio samples, and then directs them to an unfortunate Handsome Jack body double to kill and loot for a pocket watch containing Jack's bio signature.

A small studio in Opportunity's lower levels has the tech setup necessary to create their own voice modulator. Gaige and Zer0 set it up per Angel's directions, and when the process is complete, Zer0 picks up the pocket watch to try it out. The only way to know it worked is to speak, so they activate the mechanism and give it a try.

"As my voice changes / I cannot help but feel wrong / I sound like a jerk."

The change as they speak is subtle and unsettling, and the last line of their haiku sounds exactly like the voice of the man who's been attempting to kill them for months.

_I already hate this._ Krieg fidgets uncomfortably, and hates that he and the little man are in agreement.

"Oh my god that's so awful!" Gaige sounds horrified. "I wanna try!" She then gleefully holds out her hand, and Zer0 passes over the pocket watch. She takes it with a grin and flips it on.

"Checking the mic! Mic check! Oh, I sound like such a jackass!" Just like before with Zer0, the modulator's effect can be heard mid-sentence, and her final exclamation sounds just like Jack - albeit Jack using Gaige's intonation.

The sound of Handsome Jack's voice coming out of his friends' mouths makes Krieg's skin crawl. Axton grins at Gaige and gestures with a hand, ready for his turn. She hands it over with a smirk.

"Testing? Testing one two? One two. And now I have the voice of a douchebag. Great."

"You already had the voice of a douchebag," Gaige is quick to point out - back in her own voice, thankfully.

"Hey-oooooo!" Salvador lets out a cheer at Gaige's burn, and Zer0 flashes a silent "LOL" in front of their faceplate. Axton rolls his eyes but doesn't otherwise acknowledge the insult, accepting it with good grace.

"You try it now," he says, still in Jack's voice, and hands the watch to Salvador.

Krieg doesn't just hate this, he _hates_ it. His jaw is clenched, and if he had any hair on the back of his neck, it'd be standing on end. Every moment spent in the dark little room feels more and more claustrophobic. The dissonance between his ears and his eyes is jarring and unpleasant, and the more fun his friends have with their horrible new toy, the worse it becomes.

Salvador takes the watch from Axton and gives it a try.

"Uh...is this thing working? Woah. That's weird."

Hearing Jack's voice with Salvador's accent is amusing, but there isn't enough humor in the world to ease the rising panic. It's unreasonable and ridiculous and he doesn't understand why it's happening, which just makes it worse.

"Give it to Krieg! I wanna hear Jack's voice say Krieg things!" Gaige looks over at him with a grin. He looks at her automatically when she says his name, and when their eyes meet, he shakes his head, violently. _No. Absolutely not._ She hadn't been expecting that, and her expression changes from mischevious to puzzled at his reaction.

"Can I see it?" 

Krieg had really been hoping Maya wouldn't want a turn, but she's just as curious as the rest. He clenches his jaw as the watch is handed over yet again, and looks away as Maya gives it a once-over.

"This is interesting technology. I wonder how it -- oh, God, I sound atrocious."

Halfway through the modulation of Maya's voice, Krieg leaves.

"Krieg?" Jack's voice follows him, and spurs him to move even faster. "Shit, _shit_, someone take this stupid thing--"

_Outside_ of the little room isn't any better. The entire city of Opportunity is all clean lines and hard angles, smooth yellow and grey metal for as far as the eye can see. The shapes of _Hyperion_ are broken up with greenery, non-native plants that are probably intended to look natural, but only further emphasize how artificial the city is. It's suffocating worse than the way Sanctuary used to be, because Sanctuary at least looks like a place inhabited by _people_, not machines, and engineers, and _scientists--_

"_Krieg!_" Maya's voice calls his name, so he stops. He stands in place, fidgeting, and listens to the sound of her light footsteps as she hurries to catch up with him.

"Hey," she comes around to stand in front of him, approaching on his left as always, so that he can see her in his periphery. "Shit, I'm sorry about that, big guy," she says, reaching up to place her hand on his bicep. He twitches at the touch even though he expected it, but then relaxes, focusing on the heat of her small palm. More than used to his contact fidgets by now, Maya doesn't even blink. "I totally wasn't thinking. I also absolutely did _not_ expect it to sound that..._real._ We'll keep it shut off until we have to use it to get into the control core, okay?"

He stares at her for a long time, making what most people would call uncomfortably intense eye contact, but what Maya has long ago come to expect as just normal from him. She holds his gaze without flinching, keeping her hand on his arm and waiting patiently for him to come to whatever conclusion he's drawing.

Her presence is calming, as always. Her touch is warm and grounding, and when she's standing right in front of him, it's easy to forget the thing that had upset him. He can trust her more than anyone or anything else, so it's easy to nod his head and acknowledge her promise.

"Do you want to wait here while I go back and tell the others to turn it off?"

He hesitates, considering, and then nods again. She smiles, and pats his arm.

"Okay. Then we can go do Lilith's propaganda thing. Sound good?"

Lilith has asked them to instigate massive property damage and film it for her while they're still in Opportunity. He's much more enthusiastic when he nods this time.

"Mnnh!"

Maya actually grins, then, and squeezes his bicep before letting go. "I thought you'd say that. Hang tight here for a minute while I go tell the others."

He waits for her impatiently, though as she promised she isn't gone for long. When she returns, Zer0 is with her.

"Gaige and the guys are going to take care of Claptrap's statue demolition while we make some home movies," she tells him. "Ready to go?"

"Set off the secret dynamite in the dark and ventilate my skull with the bloody shrapnel!"

"I like your skull the way it is, big guy. Why don't we ventilate Jack's skull, instead?"

When he lets out his gut-busting laughter, Maya is finally reassured that Krieg has recovered from his upset.

"Let us practice on / those stupid cardboard cut-outs / we passed on our way," Zer0 suggests.

"I was just thinking the same thing." Maya smiles at Zer0. "Let's go."


	43. 14a. Home Movies

Zer0 had never collaborated with anyone before coming to Pandora. Mostly by necessity, as assassination isn't really a collaborative business, but also by preference. They would have continued with their usual MO of lone-wolfing on Pandora, but were delayed from doing so by virtue of being stranded on the Southern Shelf with a small pack of assholes. By the time the group had all made it back to the mainland, they were too intrigued by said pack of assholes to leave.

So they had stayed.

Each and every one of the other vault hunters is fascinating in their own way, and Zer0 has come to like all of them a great deal.

Maya is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. They like her no-nonsense attitude and her deep thoughtfulness and attention to detail. She doesn't lack compassion, but she also doesn't let it cloud her judgement, which Zer0 has come to trust. Her phaselock ability is as fascinating as it is useful. Normally Zer0 would be frustrated by what they consider a huge handicap - popping a headshot loses all of its challenge when the target is literally frozen in place - but there's an unofficial competition among themself and the others to see who can be the first to headshot her captives. The competition is fun, and it keeps everyone alert when the team is fighting for their collective lives.

"It takes a really special kind of conceit to decorate with cardboard cutouts of yourself, huh?" Maya asks hypothetically as she affixes a surveyor lure to the back of one of the aforesaid standees.

"Vanity and pride / compensate for everything. / Jack's a real jackass." Zer0 couldn't agree more.

"Call the bugs and smash the standees before I _burn_ them!"

"You got it, big guy." Even without Krieg's encouragement, Maya's not inclined to put off signaling for the surveyors. There's no kill like overkill, and she's also looking forward to starting the fireworks. "Where should we film?" she asks, looking over at Zer0 to get their opinion. They glance around, considering, and after a moment, gesture with one hand to draw her attention to a collection of greenery.

"Perhaps the planter. / You can see them all from there, / and hide from the bugs."

"Hmm...Yeah, good point."

Maya relocates to the planter Zer0 suggested, and they signal the surveyors. The little flying robots show up and do exactly what they were meant to do, demolishing the Jack standees with vigor and aplomb. Maya snags the footage while Krieg laughs and Zer0 grins with a red ":D"

"I seriously can't wait to see what Lillith is going to do with these clips," Maya says once the camera stops rolling.

"It's gonna be a picture-perfect propaganda!" Krieg declares.

"With all the explosions we're packing in, it better be," she responds with a smirk.

For all that Maya is the most serious of the group, she also has a subtle sense of humor, which Zer0 - as a big fan of "subtle" - deeply appreciates.

At the complete opposite end of the spectrum from Maya is Salvador, who couldn't spell the word "subtle" even if he were allowed the use of a dictionary. The loud man tries Zer0's patience at times - there's been more than one occasion the gunzerker has totally ruined a perfect surprise snipe setup - but the group dynamic wouldn't be the same without him around. Truth be told, Zer0 has come to appreciate how difficult Salvador makes stealth, simply because his presence has forced them to up their game.

They also appreciate Salvador off the battlefield. The man is open, engaging, and genuinely friendly. He's kind and generous to the people around him by default, rarely takes offense, and is slow to anger. That isn't to say he's a pushover, because, as far as Zer0 has observed, he definitely isn't. Once someone or something has actually managed to ignite Salvador's anger, all bets are off, and Salvador doesn't pull his punches.

At first glance Krieg and Salvador are a matched set of trigger-happy berserkers, but where Salvador doubles up on guns when he goes into rage-mode, Krieg falls back to his axe. Zer0 can relate. While they do love the feeling of introducing a single bullet into a target's weak point from an obscene distance, there also isn't any feeling quite as satisfying as the up close and personal delivery of their blade into any number of vital organs or delicate wiring. Of course, the difference between Zer0's melee specialty and Krieg's is huge. Zer0's swordplay is like a private letter, personally addressed, while Krieg's axeplay is more of an open letter that begins, "to whom it may concern". But the spirit is the same.

"Okay so next thing we've got to do is murder some engineers," Maya says after glancing at the mission parameters on her ECHO.

"Easy!" Krieg exclaims with a cackle, and hefts his buzzaxe.

"Perhaps in this case / discretionary bullets / would keep the shot clean," Zer0 cautions.

"Yeah, it's probably better if none of us are in the video," Maya agrees.

Krieg appears to see their point, but remains unconvinced.

"You just picked up a new Torgue, right? Why don't you try it out now?" she suggests.

"Mnngh..._Fine!_ I'll do it for the Vine!"

"I thought you might feel that way," Maya says. Zer0 doubts she knows what the Vine is, and wonders once again at the store of esoteric, ancient memes Krieg seems to have locked away in his head. Who _was_ this masked man before he was Krieg?

Krieg's new Torgue shotgun gives the trio some fantastic murder footage, and he seems to be satisfied with the result even though he wasn't able to eviscerate anyone.

Zer0 is fascinated by whatever is going on in Krieg's brain. Maybe he was completely and utterly mad during the days immediately after the train wreck, but Zer0 finds that to be doubtful. There's definitely some huge trauma affecting his mental processes and his memory is shot all to shit, but his faculties are still very much intact. The longer he spends with the vault hunters, the easier he is to understand...at least while he's calm. The more amped up Krieg gets, the more word-salady his communication becomes. But when he's chill, sometimes he's almost poetic.

"Aaaaand, the last thing we need footage of: moonshot supply misfire."

"Boost the beacon and bust the builder!"

Zer0 is having a fantastic time with the whole shopping list, but they're especially into this item of mayhem because it involves using Hyperion's own technology to sabotage itself. The irony is delicious. They wish Gaige were here, because out of the whole group, they think she would get the most satisfaction from the irony. But at least they're recording it, so she'll still get to see the destruction. Anyway, the irony will still be good once the deed is done.

For a high school kid fresh out of the Edens, Gaige has taken to life on Pandora like a skag to carrion. Or something. Zer0 would normally work on improving the metaphor, at least to something a little more artistic if not palatable, but they know she'd appreciate the imagery as well as agree with it.

They also know that as the team's designated big brother/father figure, Axton would really dig into the imagery too - though for different reasons. The commando loves giving everyone in the group shit, but Gaige is by far his favorite target. It's almost an unfair matchup of wits, because as far as Zer0's seen Gaige one-ups Axton far more often and thoroughly than he manages to do to her. But on the other hand, she also can't physically overpower him for a punishing noogie, so in the end it seems to even out.

It's been very interesting observing Axton's growth since their first days together on the Southern Shelf. It had quickly been apparent at the start that he was both used to and delighted in bucking authority - an unusual character trait for a member of any military, but which also explains Axton's status as _former_ military. Maybe Axton was just reaching an age where being the class clown was getting old anyway, or maybe his dishonorable discharge and unexpected divorce had had more of an impact on him than he likes to let on, but the longer the group works together, the more of a team player he becomes. That isn't to say he isn't still a glory-hogging asshole, because he definitely is, but there had been no room for grandstanding in the midst of a tiny group of unknowns on the Southern Shelf. He hadn't known anyone's abilities at the time, so he couldn't rely on any of them not to die because of some stupid stunt he might pull. He had actually had to dial it back if he wanted to make sure they all survived.

Zer0 isn't sure what it is that keeps Axton's bullshit in check in the present. Maybe the relatively short time they'd spent together on the Shelf had been enough to instill some sense of responsibility into him. Maybe Gaige has something to do with it. Or maybe being a part of a group of assholes that's just as unpredictable as he is has put him in the uncomfortable position of growing the fuck up because if he doesn't, someone might actually die.

Whatever the reason is, the growth has been fascinating to witness. Zer0's not sure if he's finished, or if there's more on the way, but regardless, they'll be sure to observe with interest.

The three obtain the Hyperion supply beacon needed to direct the moonshot, and make their way to the crane slated for Lillith's particular brand of demolition. Maya hands the camera off to Zer0 so they can find a good spot for filming while she and Krieg approach the crane to place the beacon. Zer0 tries a few different positions around the under-construction bridge, before settling on climbing to perch on the head of the oversized Handsome Jack statue nearby. 

They can see Maya looking for them as she and Krieg make their way back out of the soon-to-be splash zone, so they move deliberately in place to catch her eye. She starts slightly when she notices the motion, but once she looks up and registers that the motion was just Zer0, she smiles.

"Ready?" she calls up to them.

Zer0 leans a little further into her line of sight and flashes a thumbs-up and a ":D" emote. She grins back and signals the moonshot.

It takes a few minutes, just long enough for Krieg to start getting antsy, before the supply crate crashes down and utterly demolishes the crane. The sound of the impact is nearly deafening, and the spread of destruction impressive. Krieg whoops with delight at the level of destruction, and Maya laughs. Zer0 enjoys it all silently, carefully filming until the last of the debris has settled. Then they rejoin their friends on the ground.

"How satisfying / Like a Kamehameha / delivered from space."

Krieg's laughter continues, but seems to get even louder after their remark. Zer0 is briefly unsure as to why, until the big man turns to look directly at them - obviously grinning under his mask, given the look in his eye - and declares, "It's over nine-thousand!"

This isn't the first time Krieg has caught their nerdlord references. Zer0's pretty sure he doesn't remember the media they quote, but they've caught more than one understanding look from the masked man after reciting a truly weebtastic haiku. Zer0 would love to know under what circumstances Krieg came to be familiar with their nerdy media. Maybe if they stick around long enough, he'll remember, and the mystery will finally be laid to rest.

But, mystery notwithstanding, they flash a ":D" emote at Krieg. Maybe the big man will one day ruin the cool and mysterious persona they've worked so hard to cultivate, but until then, they'll enjoy this back-and forth.

Although honestly, even if he does eventually ruin it, they'll still enjoy it.

"...I'll take your guys' word for it," Maya says. She clearly gets that the pair just had a Moment, even if she's ignorant as to the cause. She'd long ago given up asking for an explanation when this happens, because all Zer0 ever does is ":)" emote innocently, and Krieg never remembers why their exchange made him laugh in the first place. "We've got all the footage Lillith asked for. Are you two ready to make a movie?"

"Time to cooperate in the Opportunity co-opportunity public broadcast station!" Krieg is down.

"Let's make a movie." Zer0 is also down.

The commercial Lillith cobbles together is, objectively, pretty darn good. It takes her a surprisingly short time to edit the footage and overlay Hyperion's propaganda audio over top, and the finished product is surprisingly polished. If the woman hadn't decided to be a vault hunter, she'd have been a hell of a film editor.

"Not bad for a home movie," Maya remarks once their little project is playing on monitors all across Opportunity.

"That was very fun. / Let's do this again sometime, / but with more stabbing."

"I can't stab with an axe!" Krieg protests.

"Not with that attitude," Maya shoots back with a mischievous smirk. Krieg almost seems ready to be annoyed, but takes one look at her expression and laughs explosively, instead.

"We'll practice stabbing with a buzzaxe on the next group of engineers," Zer0 assures him. The three still have to make their way back out of Opportunity, after all. And much like the Fridge and its infestation of rats, this town seems to be a never-ending supply of low-ranking Hyperion personnel.

Krieg is amenable, and Maya intrigued, so on their way back, that's exactly what they do.


	44. 14b. Written by the Victor

They've come so far since the days of scavenging and slaughtering. Their manners are still terrible - _Why is it so freaking hard to say "please" and "thank you"?_ \- but their word salad has vastly improved and they're far more articulate these days. Hell, they're even composing poetry using words and visuals that don't always have to do with bloody slaughter. If Maya was surprised by their ode to her friendship, so was Inner Krieg. 

_Were we a poet, before? Or a writer, or a scholar, or someone who just liked to read as much as possible?_ He wishes he could remember. He hates the loud guy for not allowing him to.

He wishes a lot of things. He wishes he could thank Maya for the books, and for reading to him and advocating for him, and for looking the other way whenever he loses his mask. He wishes he could thank Tiny Tina for the markers, and the tea parties, and the stories. He wants to thank Gaige for all of her excellent hugs and for being in his corner since Hour 1, Day 1. He wants more than anything to thank Salvador for all the drink invites that he still almost always turns down, and for all the friendly competitions. He wishes he could thank Axton for giving him a chance, and then for gracefully eating his doubts after he'd somehow disproved them all. He'd love to thank Zer0 for putting up with his loud, obnoxious ass and for always sharing the best loot.

He wants to thank them all for their help. Because of them, he barely has to direct the loud guy anymore. Because of them, they can actually act like a real person. As far as he can tell, the loud guy is actually _happy_ to be on his best behavior in Sanctuary. Hell, he can hardly remember the last time he even had to reign him in. Loud Krieg infinitely prefers to listen to Maya - or any of the others - than to him, but honestly, he can't complain. Befriending Maya has not only had the exact effect he'd hoped for when they'd first seen her on that train platform, it's put them in a better place than he'd even thought possible. The bloody slaughter is still the loud guy's number one favorite pastime, but there's a steadily growing number of activities constantly vying for a close second place that keep him calm and engaged. Not only is he learning to act like a human being, he even seems to be enjoying the experience.

Salvador had received a care package from his _abuela_ containing a packet of floral-scented soap labeled specifically for Krieg. The big guy loves it, and uses it happily. For all he has no hangups about literally bathing in the blood and viscera of the people and creatures he kills, he had only complained about the need to shower once or twice before embracing the activity. He's not sure if it's because Gaige is more likely to hug him when he's clean - the loud guy _really_ likes it when Gaige hugs him - or if the loud guy actually feels better with all the dried sweat and viscera removed. Less like a monster, more like a person.

He isn't privy to the other guy's thoughts, but he feels like he knows him pretty well by now anyway, so he's sure it's probably one of those things. Or both of those things. They have more in common than just sharing the same headspace - more than Inner Krieg is really comfortable with, and more than Loud Krieg would care to admit. They're both angered by the same things, amused by the same things, apprehensive of the same things. When the big guy busts out his axe and starts going to town on whatever or whoever they're currently fighting, it would be a lie to say Inner Krieg doesn't enjoy it, too. It's not something he's proud of. He wouldn't be particularly upset if they never participated in another bloodbath ever again. But he would be lying to himself if he tried to pretend he didn't find all the mostly awful things they can do to also be kind of awesome.

"'Morning, big guy. Are you ready to assault the bunker today?"

It's early, just before dawn. For once, Maya has awoken before Krieg. He stirs, opens his eyes, and blinks. Somehow, the loud guy is still asleep.

"Mnng..." He freezes, staring at his own hand, which had come to rest on his pillow next to his face. Curiously, he curls his fingers, one by one, and watches in fascination as they respond to his thought without any resistance.

"...Krieg?" Maya speaks again, and he starts. He hadn't forgotten that she was still there, but he hadn't been expecting her to speak up again. His back is to her, and he can hear that she's still on the other side of the room, probably near her cot, waiting for him to sit up and don his mask.

"Mnng," he grunts again. He swallows, marveling that he currently has the ability to do so. He doubts it will last for long. "Yeah." 

"Are you feeling okay, big guy? You sound kind of off."

"Uh...yeah, I'm..." He starts to sit up, and the motion is what finally awakens the loud guy. The transfer of control is instant. "...Ready for a rowdy rictus revel!"

He wants to scream in frustration as he's slammed back into the tiny corner of his own mind prison. He doesn't think the loud guy even noticed he'd had control for those few, precious moments. It's probably for the best, because he's awoken excited instead of angry, ready to take on the world and - more importantly - the bunker.

"...Well, alright, then. Get your mask on and let's go." he can hear confusion under the warmth in Maya's response. She's more than used to his mood swings by now, but he's never had one quite like this before.

Krieg does as Maya suggests, and Inner Krieg tries not to totally lose it in the confines of his brain-space. He had _talked_ to her. She had _heard_ him, and talked to _him._ But he'd been too slow to take advantage of the opportunity, hadn't even realized the opportunity was _there_ until it was _gone_. The mask goes on over his face, covering and blinding his right eye, and the loud guy turns to face her and grins a hidden grin at their best friend. She can tell, and she returns the smile. They leave Gaige's workshop together to meet up with the others.__

_ _He tries not to despair. If it had happened once, it could happen again. Maybe for longer. He doesn't have to sleep when the loud guy does. He can wake up before him again, maybe, or possibly stay awake after he's gone to sleep. What will he say to her if he manages it again, though? And what if she's already asleep, or isn't nearby?_ _

_ _...Just focus on what to say. Timing isn't going to be easy, but he refuses to believe he's missed his only opportunity. There will be other chances. There _have_ to be other chances. This morning just wasn't the right time._ _

_ _Once they're all together in the Crimson Raider HQ, they go over the plan one more time with Roland and Lilith. _ _

_ _Somehow, despite all the odds, the vault hunters have completed Angel's list of impossible tasks. There's nothing left for it._ _

_ _It's time to assault Handsome Jack's stronghold._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this one. IDK why it took so long to come together. I've got the next few chapters almost complete already, though, so hopefully this is the last long delay for a bit.


	45. 15. Where Angels Fear to Tread

Angel is a siren, and she wants them to kill her.

The second the "AI" reveals her true nature, and explains the final part of her plan to rob Jack of the vault key, Maya finds herself swallowing back a crushing wave of grief. How could Angel ask this of them? After all this time, and after all she's put them through, how could this be how it ends? How could she have hidden herself so thoroughly from both Maya and Lilith, her sister sirens? Why had she never reached out?

And when she sees Angel's cage, the grief twists in her gut like a knife, and just like that she's choking down overwhelming fury, instead. This is no doubt her answer. The chamber is enormous and sterile, but Maya can smell the tang of slag. She can sense the hum of Eridium overhead, can see it in the the vile machinery holding Angel captive, and can _feel_ it, deep in her bones, as it's pumped into Angel, forcefully, relentlessly, without pause or mercy.

Angel is tiny, skinny and emaciated. It's difficult to guess her age. Maya thinks she can't be older than twenty. How long has she been here? _Years?_ She'd helped Roland and Lilith and the rest open the first Vault, so it must be years. It's horrific almost beyond comprehension.

"_Get the hell away from my daughter!_"

And then Jack starts yelling at them, and with seven short words, he elevates the nightmare of Angel's reality to another plane entirely.

Jack is Angel's _father_ and he's done this to her? If Maya had thought she was angry before, that's nothing to the rage she's feeling with the reveal of this new information. The man is worse than a monster. The password into Angel's chambers is no longer puzzling - it's the sickening punchline for the universe's cruelest joke. 

For a second, between dodging and shooting, she sees Gaige, and meets the teen's eyes. Maya has never seen her look so utterly horrified and sickened. Knowing as she does about the sort of loving, supportive relationship Gaige has with her father, Maya can imagine how her friend must be feeling when faced with the nightmarish reality of a father who neither loves nor supports.

Axton looks unusually grim, and Salvador looks unusually enraged. Neither is a family man in the traditional sense of the word, but she's more than familiar with their morals at this point. Either of them would (and have) take a bullet for Gaige, or, well, for any of the others, honestly. Neither of them had been happy about trusting Angel after the shit she'd pulled with the power core that had exposed Sanctuary to Jack's mortar bombardment, but she can guess just by their expressions that that's all water under the bridge now.

Zer0's feelings are, as usual, mostly a mystery. But from the glimpses she can catch of the assassin through the hoard of Angelic Guardians, Maya's pretty sure that they are, at the very least, unsettled. It's more in their body language than anything else, because the red emojis they use to convey expressions are not currently being employed.

And Krieg...well. She hasn't seen Krieg this upset since the day they'd tried and failed to rescue Bloodwing. He's lost himself in his bloodlust again, and she wonders how similar Angel's cage is to whatever he'd experienced in the preserve.

She's not particularly surprised when Lilith shows up, although the other siren's presence does add to her increasing pile of concerns. Angel had specifically warned Lilith to stay away. But why?

She can't even properly enjoy fighting side-by-side with Lilith once the other siren shows up. There's so much going on between her rage at Jack, her grief for Angel, and concern for Krieg there's no room left over for the fun she usually has in the middle of a big, chaotic fight. They have a mission to complete, and they need to complete it quickly before they can be stopped.

Every second of this combat marches them closer and closer to their horrific goal, and Maya hates it possibly more than she's hated anything before. The parallels between her past and Angel's present are grossly uncomfortable. She had hated the abbey - her own particular cage - and Sophis, her father-figure turned jailor, but Angel's cage and Angel's father are a thousand, thousand times worse. Maya had been able to escape with her life, but Angel has no such option. Her delicate, emaciated body is addicted to the eridium they're currently working so hard to cut her off from. When the eridium stops flowing, Angel will die.

There are three massive eridium injectors. Each time Roland releases the shield mechanism and the vault hunters obliterate the machinery underneath, Angel screams in agony. Maya wants to scream, too. She wants to beg them to stop, but there's too much at stake. They won't get another chance like this. This is, according to Angel, the only way.

Handsome Jack screams at them, too, but Maya doesn't care. When he realizes the vault hunters aren't going to listen to him, he begins directly addressing Angel. He has the audacity to beg Angel to stop what she's doing, which just strengthens Maya's resolve. She has no way to know how much begging Angel has done in her life, but she feels like she can guess. Jack's hypocrisy only drives her forward.

When the last eridium injector is shattered, the bubble surrounding Angel disappears, and the small siren floats almost serenely to the ground. She has no strength to stand once her bare toes touch down, and immediately collapses to the floor.

"It's done...it's finally done. Thank you, friends." They've just killed her, and Angel is thanking them. Maya isn't sure whether she wants to cry or rage.

Jack screams and blubbers impotently, but Angel is having none of it.

"Dad, I have to tell you something." She pauses, and struggles to catch her breath. She's visibly fighting to cling to life for long enough to tell Jack: "You're an asshole."

Her final words ring in Maya's ears, and in that moment, in the midst of her grief, she feels something that must be pride. _Good for her._

And then Roland is talking, but for once, Maya can't bring herself to listen. Angel's death is too raw, too visceral, too immediate, for her to just brush aside.

_She wanted this,_ Maya tells herself as she stares down at the skinny, crumpled form of Angel. Her siren tattoos, which had glowed bright purple with life, have gone flat and dark. _She said this was the only way. She asked for this. She _begged_ for this. She's not that monster's slave anymore. She's at peace, now._

Somehow, reminding herself of this doesn't make her feel any better.

She forces herself to look up at Roland, then, to listen to his words, to hear the next part of his plan. They'll have time to mourn later. They have the vault key. Now all they have to do is --

The sound of a single gunshot echoes in the enormous chamber like an explosion, cutting Roland off mid-sentence. Maya's eyes widen in horror and time seems to slow down to a crawl as a look of surprise crosses Roland's features. A fountain of blood erupts from his chest. Maya feels her heart stop as Roland's legs give out from under him and he drops unceremoniously to the ground next to the still form of Angel. 

Standing behind him, pistol still cocked, is Handsome Jack.

Everyone is too shocked to react. Everyone except for Lilith. 

The Firehawk rushes forward with a feral cry of grief and rage, surrounded by a brilliant corona of flame. For a split second, Maya thinks _this is it, it ends now, right here, in this chamber._ But Handsome Jack is ready for the raging siren, had no doubt calculated his entry and murder with this exact end result in mind. With a smooth, almost casual motion, he uses her momentum against her and fastens a collar - identical to the one worn by Angel - around Lilith's throat. 

The halo of flame surrounding Lilith flickers, and nearly goes out. Jack grabs her by the neck, pulling her close and spinning her to face the vault hunters. The collar at her throat glows and pulses with a sickening purple light, and the warm, brilliant orange of Lilith's fire changes to match.

Maya can hear Jack speaking, but his words are lost in a new rush of anger and disgust. Every time she thinks he can't possibly sink any lower, he does, and with aplomb. 

"Lilith? Kill the vault hunters."

Lilith is clearly in agony as she struggles to resist. As she claws futilely at the metal band around her throat, Maya feels the familiar warm rushing sensation of Lilith's power. She has no time to react before she's surrounded by a familiar bright light. Then there's the gut-wrenching sensation of displacement, and when the light fades, she sees that she and the others have been transported...somewhere else.

This time it's Gaige who loses the battle with displacement sickness. Salvador and Axton move close to her as she vomits on a nearby wall, ready to offer support and probably some gentle teasing.

Lilith has phased them into some kind of store room or bunker. That's all Maya has the chance to notice before she's distracted by a flash of orange at the corner of her vision. She turns her head just in time to see Krieg disappear out of sight up a narrow flight of stairs. Gaige retches loudly behind her, and Maya whips around to get another visual on the team's youngest member. She's reassured with a glance that Axton and Salvador are more than ready to offer whatever help she needs.

Maya turns to look back to the staircase, and her gaze meet's Zer0's on the way. She and the assassin share a brief look before Zer0 nods their head slightly. Salvador and Axton will make sure Gaige is okay. Maya and Zer0 move in tandem to follow Krieg up the stairs, to make sure _he's_ okay.

Grieving will have to wait.


	46. 16. Where Angels Fear to Tread Part 2

The reality of Angel's situation is too much. The moment he lays eyes on her chamber, Krieg finds himself fighting the urge to vomit. He can barely see straight through the fight with the angelic guardians. Letting go and giving in to his ever-present rage against Jack's robotic army barely suppresses the rising bile. His head is pounding as he witnesses her last moments, and then Roland's death, and Lilith's capture. He can only register that he's back in Sanctuary because of the need to get _out_. He can't see the way to the fast travel or the path to the slaughter, but somehow he finds both anyway, and loses himself in the subsequent massacre.

In hindsight, it occurs to him that it was stupid to go off on his own. This is the first time since he met Maya and the others that he's rushed into a bandit camp without any sort of backup, and while he has the upper hand for several satisfying minutes, his luck turns as he pops the helmets off of two Goliaths and gets caught in the resulting splash zone of death. The losing Goliath goes down and the winner levels up, regains its health, and turns its attention squarely onto him.

He eschews his shotgun for his buzzaxe and lets the bloodlust overcome him completely. He can push down the memory of Angel's slag cage, shove it down to cover a different, rising memory of looking out from within an even smaller cage, and bury them both under the rage and the adrenaline of the fight. He can block the knowledge that the Guardian Angel was no AI, but a child, a little girl, a _human being_, caged and tortured and exploited by her own _father._ He can cover the siren's screams, still echoing in his ears, with his own voice - raised and ragged and feral, spewing obscenities and word salad at his opponent. Every heavy _thud_ when he lands a blow, every spatter and spray of blood when he slices another artery silence the past a little bit more and ground him in the present.

But it's not an even matchup, not when he doesn't bother to avoid the powerful blows the Goliath deals. He'd begun this fight at a disadvantage, shield long drained by the bullets of lesser bandits, and health well below optimal.

Knocked to his knees, Krieg turns up his masked face to stare Death right in the eye. He welcomes it, as he always has. The dead don't have to think, they don't have to feel, they don't have to _grieve_. Finally, it's his turn.

The Goliath's massive fist comes down, and

stops.

He feels the familiar, telltale prickle of electricity, smells the burning ozone and slag, and then the Goliath is trapped and helpless in a glowing, floating bubble several feet above him. Only a second later, its tiny, skull-like head explodes with one well-placed bullet, and the healing after-effect of Maya's phaselock suffuses his broken and battered body with warmth and health. He's still not in any shape to stand, but he's no longer teetering at the edge of death.

The remaining bandits have found additional targets and have turned their gunfire away from him. He's vaguely aware that the remainder are being quickly picked off one by one with a sniper's precision, but most of his attention is for _her._

Maya makes a beeline for him across the camp. Her expression is unreadable, and she only spares a passing glance and a deadly spray of corrosive bullets from her trusty Maliwan at the bandits who attempt to intercept her. Krieg watches her approach without moving. He's experiencing a strange mixture of disappointment at his thwarted death, and incredulity at her miraculous appearance. Why is she here? Certainly not for _him_. 

_You're her friend, idiot. Of course she'd come after you._

She stops just a pace away from him, and stares at him without speaking for a long moment. It's strange to be in a position where he's the one looking up at her, and he lets the novelty of it demand his attention. He has no idea what she's thinking as they stare at each other, as her expression offers no clues. Finally, she holsters her SMG and holds out her hand. It's a gesture she's made to him a hundred times over by now, a gesture he's mirrored at least as many times to her. When one of them goes down, the other is there to lift them back up. His gaze twitches from Maya's face to her hand, and after another moment, he reaches up to accept her help. He curls his fingers around her slender wrist, and she grips his broad wrist, and he leverages himself to his feet.

Once he's upright, she doesn't let go. She shifts her hold on his hand instead, delicate fingers gripping tight with surprising strength, and pulls it closer to her. He allows her to manipulate his limb, confused but unconcerned, his eye fixed on her face. She doesn't seem to be looking at him for the moment, though she brings up her left hand to join her right and uses both of them to press his hand against her heart. He can feel it faintly, on the other side of her sternum, strong and steady, just like Maya herself. He hears her breathe deeply in and then out, centering herself, the way she'd tried to teach him to do, what feels like a lifetime ago. She breathes in again, and her eyes focus on his face, and she finally speaks.

"Handsome Jack has a lot to answer for. We'll make him pay for what he did to Angel and Roland, and for what he's doing to Lilith. And," she pauses, squeezes his hand with both of hers, and raises her right hand to press the palm against his masked cheek. Maya's expression is dead serious, and she's looking straight into his eye. Her blue eyes glint with the anger he can hear in her voice, and also with...something else. "We'll make him pay for what he did to _you._"

That statement has him reeling - how does she know? How did she find out? Who told her?

_No one told her. She's not stupid. She watches us as much as we watch her. She's seen our wanted poster. She heard the ECHOs in the Preserve and saw how much that place bothered us. Do you think she didn't notice how we were acting in Angel's--_

"Stop it _stop it STOP IT!!_" Krieg raises his free hand to hit himself, but he aborts the motion before he can complete it, unwilling to risk hurting Maya. If she's startled by his outburst, she doesn't show it. She simply watches him and, after a moment, reaches over to hold his other hand, too.

"You want to feed him a lead salad, right?" she asks as if he hadn't just shouted at nothing.

"Mnnngh!!" He grunts an affirmative and punctuates the sentiment by nodding his head up and down, hard and fast like a little kid. "I'm gonna slice off his eyelids so he can _watch the end!_" The pitch of his voice dips as he declares his intent, and at the conclusion of his statement it's more growl than anything else.

"_Hell_ yeah." She smiles for the first time since she approached him, a subtle upcurve of her lip, and squeezes his hands with hers. "I'll hold him still while you do."

The black abyss of his horror and grief is no match for Maya's assurance. It's easy to let it slip away with her calming presence before him.

"Even though this is / Really touching, I am bored. / Can we go back, now?"

Krieg twitches with surprise when Zer0 speaks up. He'd been so focused on Maya, he hadn't heard the assassin approach. Not that it's likely their companion had made any sound as they'd come closer. Maya, on the other hand, doesn't physically react to the assassin's words or presence at all, keeping her gaze firmly locked with Krieg's.

"Ready to go home, big guy?"

_Home._

He nods, a single, short downward jerk of his chin. "Yeah."

Maya hooks her arm through his, Zer0 gives his shoulder a friendly pat, and the three return to Sanctuary.


	47. 16a. Bearer of Bad News

"Hey, Scoots." The situation in Control Core Angel had gone south so quickly, even Axton is stunned. And for a former soldier who's used to shit hitting the fan at a moment's notice, that's saying something. 

"What's up, Vault Hunter? I ain't got no jobs, or nuthin'," Scooter greets Axton with all the ease of a man who has no reason to suspect he's about to get some terrible news.

"Not lookin' for work today, bud. I just came by to tell you...ugh. Roland's dead, man. Jack killed him."

Scooter doesn't actually look all that shocked. Maybe he'd been expecting it, or maybe it would take the reality of what Axton has just told him some time to hit. It could be either-or with Scooter.

"...I tell ya, man, I'll never forget that time Roland an' all'a them jumped over Piss Wash Gully. Thems was some good times."

Axton has no clue where Piss Wash Gully is, or how Roland and the others had jumped over it, but it doesn't really matter. He can see the news is beginning to sink in. Scooter's expression darkens, and he sits down heavily on a nearby tire.

"Hell, man, now I'm sad. Is this what sad feels like?"

"Yeah, Scoots. Probably."

"You kill the crap outta Jack, y'hear?"

"You don't gotta tell me twice, man. That's exactly what we're gonna do."

* * *

"Vault Hunter! What can I do ya for?"

"I'm not shopping today, Marcus." Maya's voice is hard, and she's schooled her face into a carefully neutral expression. She never thought she'd be grateful for the years of practice she's had repressing her emotions, and yet here she is. Pushing down the shock and grief of two senseless deaths feels horrible, but she's sure it's better than being overwhelmed by them. "I just have something to tell you."

"Oh, yeah?" The gun dealer smiles, raising one eyebrow in a way that's somehow both expectant and suggestive. Maya frowns.

"Roland's dead. Jack shot him in the back."

Marcus' expression changes instantly, the leer disappeared and replaced with shock. It's a huge improvement, as far as Maya is concerned. "Roland's...dead? Oh."

She turns to go, but when he keeps talking, she pauses to listen. "Me and him didn't see eye-to-eye most of the time. He never liked how I sold guns to the bandits. But I would have died in New Haven if it weren't for him. He was a...he was a good man."

"Yeah," Maya agrees as she resumes her aborted retreat. "He was."

* * *

"Well hey, there, handsome. How did the bunker assault go?"

Salvador manages a brief, crooked upturn of his lips for Moxxi's benefit, but he's never in his life felt less like smiling.

"Not great, Moxx. It was...a bad time."

"Oh?" Moxxi seems more curious than alarmed. "Why don't you have a seat, and I'll pour you a drink, and you can tell me all about it?"

"There ain't much to tell, to be honest," Salvador says. He takes her up on her offer, though, and settles into his usual seat at the bar.

"So what happened?"

"'Lotta shit. But, just…" He lets out a long breath, before continuing. There's no way to sugarcoat this news. "Ah, hell. Moxxi, Roland's dead. Jack killed him. Shot him right in the back."

Moxxi, who had turned to the counter behind the bar to retrieve a glass, freezes. "Jack killed Roland?" She turns back to face Salvador, her expression shocked. "Son of a bitch!" She pauses briefly, as the news really starts to sink in, and her eyes begin to well up with tears. "He helped me take care of Mister Shank, and unlike, well, damn near everyone around here, he always behaved like a gentleman. I don't...I don't know what to say." Then the tears start to flow, creating companion black streaks to the made-up ones dripping from the black liner around her eyes. "_Dammit,_ am I crying?"

"Yeah," Salvador tells her. He reaches across the bar to touch her hand, a quiet gesture of support. She takes his hand and holds it tightly.

"Don't worry, though," he continues. No one could misinterpret the tone in his voice as anything other than dead serious. For once, he's not flirting. "I won't tell a soul."

* * *

Gaige slips into Dr. Zed's clinic quietly. Exhausted by her own grief and rage, a blanket of detachment has settled over her emotions, and made her feel numb.

Zed perks up when he sees her, but his brows quickly draw together in concern. "What's up, kiddo? You feelin' okay? You're not lookin' so hot."

"I'm not...I'm not feeling so hot, Doc. Roland..." She swallows hard, sniffles, and fights back a sudden onslaught of tears. Not even the exhaustion can keep the grief back. Between what happened to Angel and what happened to Roland, she's having a hell of a time keeping it together. Thankfully, she's only here to tell Zed about one of them. "Roland's dead. Jack killed him."

"Roland's...dead?" Zed looks at her with wide eyes, before sitting down heavily on a nearby stool. "Oh, god. I remember the first time we met."

Gaige moves a little closer, still sniffling, while Zed continues to talk. 

"I healed him up after he killed some of Nine-Toes' men. He seemed nice enough. Quiet. But, uh...damn." He stops there, and scrubs a hand over his face. "I'm, uh. I'm sorry. He deserved better."

"Yeah," Gaige agrees, her voice uncharacteristically quiet. "Yeah, he did."

* * *

Zer0 is used to delivering death, not the news of it. Completing hits and reporting back has a whole different feel than witnessing a murder and informing next of kin. They've never had to do the latter before now, and infinitely prefer the former.

The assassin has Tannis' attention, and no desire to mince words. Delaying the inevitable won't change their report.

"It is with regret / that I share this news with you: / Roland has been killed."

"Oh," Tannis says. "I see." She turns away from Zer0 and is quiet for several moments before speaking again. "Had Roland not forced me to relocate to Sanctuary, I would not be alive today. I am unpleasantly surprised to find that I am..._sorry_, that Roland is dead."

"Yes," Zer0 agrees. "As am I."

* * *

Maya had pressed their current novel into Krieg's hands when she'd got him back to the Raiders HQ, and asked him to wait for her on the second-floor couch. She wouldn't be gone long, and when she came back, they would read together.

So Krieg is sitting quietly, carefully holding the bundle of bound paper and printed words that will help him forget everything that had just happened, when Brick steps into the room. He sees Krieg immediately, and when their eyes meet, there's no need to say anything.

"Mordecai told me what happened to Roland," Brick says without preamble. "So here's what we do: We bury Roland, we save this planet, and we kill Jack, his associates, his friends, his _family, EVERYONE HE'S EVER MET! WE SKIN THEM WITH THEIR OWN GODDAMN TEETH!_"

All of this sounds absolutely fantastic to Krieg. He leaps to his feet, ready to get his murder on, but is stopped by the small weight of the book in his hands, and Brick's hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," the big man says, even as he visibly reins in his anger. "We went our separate ways a few years back, but Roland was my friend. And nobody - _nobody_ \- hurts my friends."

Krieg gets it. He loves each of the other vault hunters fiercely, and he would die before he let anything happen to any of them. And if anything ever did happen to them? Well.

"We'll rip out his guts and _feed them to him!_" Krieg promises.

"Hell yeah, we will."


	48. 16b. The Chosen One

Salvador has declared a "boys day" and dragged Axton and Krieg with him to Sawtooth Caldron for some "male bonding," whatever that means. Gaige is pretty sure it involves a lot of belching and farting and hitting things and each other with fists.

"...But they all do that anyway, even when we're there." Maya is confused.

"Yeah, I don't get it either. But it's nice of them to take it somewhere else for once, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Maya and Gaige decide they may as well have a girls day, and are just leaving the Crimson Raiders HQ when Tannis inadvertently stops them.

"Hypothesis!" the woman smacks her fist down into her palm in the universal gesture of _Eureka!_ Only then does she seem to notice the two vault hunters.

"Maya! Good, you're still here. I would appreciate your assistance. That is, I just need a sounding board - I merely require you to listen; I do not expect your participation."

"Uh. Okay?"

"Gaige may listen as well, since she's here."

"Jeez, thanks for your permission." Gaige's eye roll is audible in her voice.

"So what's this hypothesis?" Maya prompts.

"Well! Now that we finally understand exactly what Jack was using to charge the vault key, everything's fallen into place! It's so _simple_, I find it difficult to conclude it could be anything else."

"...Yes?" Gaige prompts.

Tannis continues as if she hasn't heard Gaige. "Through anecdotal testimony provided to me by Lilith, it is my understanding that the Eridian creatures which tended to the vault on Elpis have some ability which allows them to grant siren-like powers to human beings. It is infuriating that I have not been able to study this phenomenon myself, as Lilith's skills of observation are _extremely_ poor, and her overwhelming penchant for understatement is legendary. As much as it pains me to rely solely on her unreliable report, I must accept for now that it is the best I will get."

Maya and Gaige listen in silence, unsure where this is going. Tannis clears her throat, and continues.

"It is, of course, to be noted that Handsome Jack is also aware of this ability possessed by the Eridian beings. In light of what we have learned about Angel's true nature, it is now obvious that he was also aware of the connection between eridium and sirens. I imagine it was not a stretch of his twisted brain to conclude that siren powers might originate _from_ eridium, and as such, perhaps the effect of the Eridian gift could be replicated. Obviously he was not privy to the method used by the Eridians to grant these abilities to the soldiers of the Lost Legion, and so experimentation was necessary. Experimentation which took place at the Hyperion Wildlife Exploitation Preserve."

At this point in Tannis' monologue, Maya has a niggling, uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. She feels like she knows where Tannis is going with this, and she doesn't like it. A quick glance at Gaige lets her know the younger woman is also tracking where this is going, and when their eyes meet, they share a moment of dawning realization, just as Tannis finally comes around and states her hypothesis:

"Handsome Jack was trying to create an artificial _siren!_"

Tannis pauses triumphantly, clearly pleased with her wind up and pitch. Her inadvertent audience members are silent for a long moment as they process this statement, before Gaige finally asks the million dollar question.

"_Why?_"

"He wanted to replace Angel in the control core," Maya has been certain of only a very few things in her life, and after listening to Tannis' rambling build up, she's just added one more thing to that short list. She's still trying to forget the tubes and the sterile glass cage and the fucking _collar_, and none of Tannis' hypothesizing is helping. In fact, it's definitely tightening the persistent knots in her stomach that she's had since seeing Angel in person for the first - and last - time.

"Precisely!" Tannis is apparently pleased at how quickly Maya reached that conclusion. "While it is undeniable that Handsome Jack is a complete and utter monster who must be destroyed, he does appear to be genuinely grieving over Angel's death. Whether or not he's grieving the loss of his daughter versus the loss of a useful tool is up for debate. He clearly didn't hate what he was doing to her enough to stop him doing it, but he would also have been a true idiot not to seek alternatives. I believe it is reasonable to assume that if he had the ability to place a different siren in the control core and remove his daughter, he would have done so immediately."

"So he experimented...on _people._" Gaige's disgust is palpable. And then she's hit with a new thought, which has also been spooling around in Maya's mind: "Ohmygod! _Krieg!_"

"Exactly!" Once again, despite her earlier warnings that she required no conversation, Tannis seems happy that her audience is following along. "It's clear that the experiment on your psycho companion was not a success, but it was also not a complete failure. I have observed that he possesses many abilities similar to Lilith's, although they are not a perfect replication, and, in fact, appear to be quite debilitating if not managed correctly."

"A mystery solved. / How strange that the solution / brings up more questions."

All three women jump at the sound of Zer0's mechanically modified voice, speaking as if from nowhere. When they all turn in the assassin's direction, it's pretty obvious that Zer0 has been there the entire time, leaning casually against a bunk bed. When they notice three sets of eyes on them, they flash a bright red ":)" in front of their faceplate.

"Didn't you go out to Sawtooth Cauldron with the guys?" Even as she asks this, Maya's not actually sure that was the case. She knows Zer0 had been _invited_. Whether or not they'd accepted the invitation...well.

"I thought about it / but decided not to go. / It's quieter here."

"Since when do you like quiet?" Gaige doesn't buy it. "Quiet's _boring!_"

Instead of a verbal reply, Zer0 turns their head to look directly at Gaige, and flashes some red text: "O RLY?"

"...Okay, yeah, this definitely isn't boring, but _usually_ it is!"

"I am glad to have relieved your boredom." Tannis sounds more sarcastic than glad. "However, three's a crowd, as they say, and it is now _far_ too crowded in here for my liking. Thank you for your time, and now I must ask all three of you to leave."

"Fine by me," Maya says. She's extremely grateful for the excuse. She places a hand on Gaige's shoulder and raises an eyebrow at Zer0 in a silent inquiry: _Are you ready to go?_

"Yeah, same. Come hang out with us, Zer0! We were just trying to figure out something fun to do."

The assassin accepts their invitation with a cheerful ":D" emoji, and the three vacate Tannis' lab per her request, leaving the woman to whatever it is she does in there when she's alone.

"Holy _shit,_" Gaige exclaims once they're outside.

"Yeah," Maya agrees.

"It's quite a theory," Zer0 remarks.

"That's an understatement." 

"That wanted poster sure makes a lot more sense, now," Gaige continues. "But _wow_, that's wild."

Maya looks up, seeking out the cratered, almost innocuous moon hanging low in the sky. Tannis had mentioned _Eridians_ in her rambling wind-up. Were they some kind of alien? Must be. Now she has something else to ask Lilith about, once they kill Jack and release her. There's no way she's going to ask Tannis for any more information if she can help it. The one conversation they've just escaped has been more than enough to last her a lifetime in that particular doctor's presence. 

And if Lilith's information is as sparse and understated as Tannis believes, well, then...Jack will be dead, and the vault will have been found, so there won't be anything stopping her from going straight to the source itself, after that.

She'll bring Krieg, of course. And if any of the others want to come along, she'll welcome them, too. They'll have a nice vacation together on the moon, and she'll be able to resume her search for more information about sirens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I played the original Borderlands for the first time ever with my co-op buddies this summer. Naturally I picked my girl Lilith. The more I filled out her Elemental skill tree as I leveled her up, the more familiar playing her felt...It was almost, but not exactly, like playing my boy Krieg. I've been a fan of this franchise for way longer than I've been in the fandom. Is this crazy theory already a thing?
> 
> Story-wise, I'm now into the planning stages of how I want to roll out the end-game, so updates will be a little slower going forward.


End file.
